Outcomes Assessment of a Pharmacist-Directed Seamless Care Program in an Ambulatory Oncology Clinic

Abstract

The primary goal of seamless care is improved patient outcomes and improved standards of care for patients with cancer. The pharmacy service of the Newfoundland Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation conducted a randomized control study that measured clinical and humanistic outcomes of a pharmacist-directed seamless care program in an ambulatory oncology clinic. This article focuses on the intervention group, particularly the identification of drug-related problems (DRPs) and utilization of health care services as well the satisfaction of 3 types of health professionals with the services provided by the pharmacist-directed seamless care program. Overall, the seamless care pharmacist (SCP) identified an average of 3.7 DRPs per intervention patient; the most common DRP reported was a patient not receiving or taking a drug therapy for which there is an indication. The SCP identified more DRPs in patients receiving adjuvant treatment compared to those receiving palliative treatment. On average, family physicians, oncology nurses, and hospital pharmacists were satisfied with the SCP intervention indicating that they agreed the information collected and distributed by the SCP was useful to them. Pharmacist-directed seamless care services in an ambulatory oncology clinic have a significant impact on clinical outcomes and processes of patient care. The presence of a SCP can help identify and resolve DRPs experienced by patients in an outpatient oncology clinic, ensuring that patients are receiving the highest standard of care.

2018 Hematology/Oncology Pharmacist Association Best Practices for the Management of Oral Oncolytic Therapy: Pharmacy Practice Standard

“… 58 Addition of face-to-face encounters has also been found to contribute to enhanced pharmacist–patient relationships 59 , 60 and provider satisfaction. 23 , 61 Documentation of care in the patient’s medical record is critical to communicate findings and interventions to the interprofessional team 58 , 61 , 62 ( Fig 1 ).…”

The oncology pharmacist as part of the palliative treatment team

“…Pharmacists were involved in the care of three‐quarters of the patients making one or more intervention. To our knowledge, no study has been published previously that included both a hospital as well as an outpatient pharmacist in one palliative team, even though the need for seamless care between primary and secondary care settings in this patient population is well established . We showed that the specific fields of expertise of both types of pharmacists may work synergistically in this patient population.…”

Prescrições de medicamentos em unidade de cuidadospaliativos de um hospital universitário de Porto Alegre

“…Em estudo realizado por Hussainy et al na Austrália, a inclusão de farmacêuticos nas equipes aumentou o conhecimento relacionado a medicamentos por parte da equipe de CP e dos pacientes, melhorando o manejo das prescrições e reduzindo erros relacionados 16 . Quando o paciente faz a escolha de receber CP no ambiente domiciliar, o reconhecimento da forma como essa terapia será manejada faz com que a alta hospitalar tenha êxito ou não 17 . A realização de estudos na área de CP que avaliem a eficácia e segurança de medicamentos pode garantir uma melhor qualidade de atendimento, qualificando a unidade hospitalar ou o cuidado domiciliar.…”