Utilization of Collaborative Practice Agreements between Physicians and Pharmacists as a Mechanism to Increase Capacity to Care for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Recipients

Abstract

Survival following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has improved and the number of allogeneic HSCTs performed annually in the United States is expected to reach 10,000 by 2015. The National Marrow Donor Program created the System Capacity Initiative to formulate mechanisms to care for the growing number of HSCT recipients. One proposed method to increase capacity is utilization of pharmacists to manage drug therapy via collaborative practice agreements (CPAs). Pharmacists have managed drug therapy in oncology patients with CPAs for decades; however, there are limited HSCT centers that employ this practice. Engaging in collaborative practice and billing agreements with credentialed pharmacists to manage therapeutic drug monitoring, chronic medical conditions and supportive care in HSCT recipients may be cost-effective and enable physicians to spend more time on new or more complex patients. The goal of this paper is to provide a framework for implementation of a CPA and address how it may improve HSCT program capacity.

Investigating strategies used by hospital pharmacists to effectively communicate with patients during medication counselling

“…Pharmacists do so by addressing patients’ medication concerns, discussing changes made to medication therapy, and by providing patients with medication information and education . Hospital pharmacy practice has expanded in a number of countries to include advanced clinical skills such as prescriptive authority, ability to requisition laboratory tests, conduct physical assessments and provide immunizations . In addition to possessing competent clinical skills, pharmacists must further develop their ability to communicate effectively with other health‐care professionals and especially with patients and their caregivers …”

Role of the clinical pharmacist in a paediatric haemato-oncology stem cell transplantation ward

“…In addition, however, due to the complexity of their drug treatment, extensive use of drugs with narrow therapeutic indexes and the issues mentioned above, HSCT patients are at high risk of drug-related complications 8 9…”

The Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Pharmacist: Roles, Responsibilities, and Recommendations from the ASBMT Pharmacy Special Interest Group

“…Several opportunities for revenue generation exist in the outpatient setting. Pharmacists who function within collaborative practice agreements (CPAs) have the potential to manage drug therapy with some states granting pharmacists prescriptive authority [50]. Functioning in such a role again gives pharmacists the opportunity to couple their clinical contribution with financial impact.…”