Frontier Psychiatry Adds Clinical Pharmacist for Rural Mental Health Care

Collaborative psychiatrist-pharmacist model delivers 60% better outcomes for patients across Montana, Alaska, and Idaho's underserved communities

BILLINGS, MT, UNITED STATES, September 14, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Frontier Psychiatry, a leading virtual psychiatry and addiction treatment practice serving rural and frontier communities, today announced the addition of a clinical pharmacist to its comprehensive behavioral health team. This strategic enhancement directly addresses the medication management crisis affecting rural patients across Montana, Alaska, and Idaho – regions where 65% of rural counties lack practicing psychiatrists and suicide rates are among the nation’s highest.

Solving Rural America's Behavioral Health Access Crisis

The integration of a clinical pharmacist into Frontier Psychiatry's 30-member virtual care team represents a breakthrough in rural mental health services. With over 150 million Americans living in Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas and rural communities facing average 90-minute drives to psychiatric care, telepsychiatry combined with pharmaceutical expertise delivers world-class treatment directly to patients' homes.

"Adding a clinical pharmacist to our virtual psychiatry platform isn't just expanding services – it's solving the medication management crisis that affects thousands of rural families," said Dr. Eric Arzubi, CEO and Co-Founder of Frontier Psychiatry. "When your nearest pharmacy consultant is hours away and your psychiatrist appointment requires a day off work, having integrated medication expertise through telehealth becomes life-changing."

Evidence-Based Collaborative Care Delivers Superior Outcomes

Clinical research demonstrates three key advantages when psychiatrists and pharmacists collaborate on patient care, directly benefiting Frontier Psychiatry's rural patient population:

Accelerated Mental Health Recovery: Patients receiving integrated psychiatrist-pharmacist care experience 60% better behavioral health outcomes compared to traditional psychiatry-only treatment. This collaborative approach helps rural patients achieve symptom relief faster through optimized medication management and enhanced treatment coordination.

Improved Medication Adherence: Clinical pharmacy expertise significantly improves patient medication compliance, with adherence scores increasing when pharmacists provide patient education and follow-up support. This translates to fewer missed doses, reduced side effects, and more effective treatment outcomes for depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders.

Enhanced Patient Satisfaction: Studies show 78% of patients report feeling more informed and supported when both psychiatrists and pharmacists coordinate their care, compared to only 59% receiving standard psychiatric treatment. Rural patients consistently report 80% higher satisfaction rates with collaborative care models.

Addressing Montana's Behavioral Health Provider Shortage

Dr. Arzubi, a Yale-trained child and adolescent psychiatrist who previously served as Chair of Psychiatry at Billings Clinic, co-founded Frontier Psychiatry in March 2020 to ensure rural communities receive the same quality psychiatric care available in major metropolitan areas. The practice has since provided virtual mental health services to over 25,000 patients across all 56 Montana counties and expanded telepsychiatry coverage into Idaho and Alaska.

"During my time at Billings Clinic, I regularly saw mothers drive their children four hours from rural Montana counties for 30-minute psychiatric appointments," Dr. Arzubi noted. "Children missed school, families faced travel expenses, and treatment delays occurred – all for behavioral health care that telehealth technology could deliver effectively to their homes."

Comprehensive Virtual Team Serving Diverse Rural Populations

Frontier Psychiatry's multidisciplinary team includes 15 board-certified psychiatrists and 15 advanced practice providers (nurse practitioners and physician assistants) specializing in child psychiatry, adult psychiatry, addiction psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, and perinatal psychiatry. The practice currently serves over 4,000 patients monthly through virtual appointments across the three-state footprint.

"We deliberately focus on the medical aspects of behavioral health because that's where the greatest access gaps exist in rural communities," explained Dr. Arzubi. "Mental health and substance use disorders should be treated in the same integrated virtual platform by the same coordinated team – splitting these services doesn't serve our rural patients well."

Data-Driven Virtual Care Outcomes Validate Telehealth Approach

Recent research published by Frontier Psychiatry analyzing 2022 Montana Medicaid data demonstrated that patients receiving virtual psychiatric care from the practice were 38% less likely to require psychiatric hospitalization compared to those receiving traditional in-person care elsewhere. This outcome data underscores the effectiveness of the practice's collaborative, technology-enabled approach to rural behavioral health treatment.

"We track our telehealth outcomes rigorously because our rural patients and communities deserve accountability," said Dr. Arzubi. "Adding pharmaceutical expertise to our virtual care team will only strengthen these outcomes while providing our patients with comprehensive medication management typically only available in major academic medical centers."

Expanding Virtual Mental Health Access Across Rural America

With recent investor funding secured in 2023, Frontier Psychiatry plans to extend telepsychiatry services to four to six additional rural states over the next three to four years. The practice's no-wait-time commitment ensures that patients across their service areas access virtual psychiatric care within 10 days of referral – a critical advantage in regions where traditional psychiatric appointments average 48-day wait times.

Accepting Insurance and Medicaid Across All Three States

Frontier Psychiatry accepts major insurance plans including Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial insurance across Montana, Alaska, and Idaho. The practice works directly with patients to verify coverage and minimize out-of-pocket costs for virtual appointments. In Alaska, where 64% of behavioral health office visits are out-of-network compared to only 22% of primary care visits, Frontier Psychiatry's in-network status provides crucial cost savings for patients. Telehealth services require only basic internet connectivity, making psychiatric care accessible even in areas with limited broadband infrastructure.

About Frontier Psychiatry

Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Billings, Montana, Frontier Psychiatry is an all-virtual psychiatry and addiction treatment practice dedicated to eliminating behavioral health access barriers in rural and frontier communities. The company serves patients across Montana, Alaska, and Idaho through a team of 30 psychiatric professionals, including board-certified psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and a clinical pharmacist. Frontier Psychiatry accepts most insurance plans and provides timely access to virtual appointments for urgent psychiatric needs. More information is available at www.frontier.care.

Key Services:
- Virtual psychiatry consultations
- Telepsychiatry for children, adolescents, and adults
- Online addiction treatment and substance use disorder care
- Medication management with clinical pharmacy support
- Collaborative care with rural primary care providers

Eric Arzubi, MD
Frontier Psychiatry
+1 4067024383
email us here
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