scholarly journals Evaluation of a Pharmacist Led Oral Chemotherapy Clinic: A Pilot Program in the Gastrointestinal Oncology Clinic at an Academic Medical Center

Pharmacy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julianne O. Darling ◽  
Farah Raheem ◽  
Katelyn C. Carter ◽  
Elizabeth Ledbetter ◽  
Jennifer F. Lowe ◽  
...  

Oral chemotherapy represents a major patient-centric advancement in therapy convenience. However, ownership of safe and correct administration of these agents requires significant patient education. To address this challenge, an in-person pharmacist-led oral chemotherapy education clinic in gastrointestinal oncology patients within an academic medical center was created and assessed. In this pilot program, a medication-specific quiz was administered to patients before and after education performed by a pharmacist to assess patient understanding of their new oral chemotherapy. A five-question satisfaction survey was also administered at the conclusion of the pharmacist clinic visit. Primary outcome was the percentage difference between pre-and post-education quiz scores. Secondary outcomes included patient satisfaction, time to treatment initiation, and number of pharmacist interventions. Frequencies and medians were used to describe categorical and continuous variables, respectively. Of the 18 patients analyzed, 50% were male and median age was 59.5 years. Approximately 28% had colon cancer, and 61% were treated with capecitabine. The median post-education scores improved from a pre-education score of 75% to 100%. Overall, seventeen of the eighteen patients responded with “strongly agree” to all satisfaction survey statements. An in-person oncology pharmacist-led oral chemotherapy education session demonstrated an improvement in patients’ understanding of their new oral chemotherapy treatment.

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 237437352199862
Author(s):  
Stephanie Bayer ◽  
Paul Kuzmickas ◽  
Adrienne Boissy ◽  
Susannah L. Rose ◽  
Mary Beth Mercer

The Ombudsman Office at a large academic medical center created a standardized approach to manage and measure unsolicited patient complaints, including methods to identify longitudinal improvements, accounting for volume variances, as well as incident severity to prioritize response needs. Data on patient complaints and grievances are collected and categorized by type of issue, unit location, severity, and individual employee involved. In addition to granular data, results are collated into meaningful monthly leadership reports to identify opportunities for improvement. An overall benchmark for improvement is also applied based on the number of complaints and grievances received for every 1000 patient encounters. Results are utilized in conjunction with satisfaction survey results to drive patient experience strategies. By applying benchmarks to patient grievances, targets can be created based on historical performance. The utilization of grievance and complaint benchmarking helps prioritize resources to improve patient experiences.


2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (30_suppl) ◽  
pp. 283-283
Author(s):  
Jim Doolin ◽  
Daniel Aaron Roberts ◽  
Christina Cibotti ◽  
Scott M Devlin ◽  
Holly Dowling ◽  
...  

283 Background: Monitoring of toxicity and adherence is often lacking for patients recently started on oral chemotherapy. National guidelines recommend active outreach to patients within a week after treatment start. We developed an online tool to actively reach out to patients newly started on oral chemotherapy at one academic medical center and community practice. Methods: A multi-disciplinary team, including patients, developed an online oral chemotherapy adherence, symptom, and financial toxicity assessment tool within REDCap. We implemented this tool for new oral chemotherapy prescriptions in May 2018 in the gastrointestinal oncology group of an academic medical center and a general community practice. To quantify the impact of this tool on symptom management, we completed a retrospective analysis of patients receiving new oral chemotherapy prescriptions at these same sites, in the 13 months immediately preceding clinical implementation of the online tool, May 2017 to May 2018. Results: In the pre-intervention historical cohort (n = 58) the median time to first symptom assessment by a clinician was 7 days (range 1 – 41 days, SD 7 days), median time to identifying a new or worsening symptom was 10 days (range 1-55 days, SD 10 days), and median time to clinical action regarding a new or worsening symptom was 10 days (range 1-104, SD 20 days). Our first intervention patient used the online tool in May 2018 to report symptoms of “nausea and fatigue,” 4 days after starting oral chemotherapy. This resulted in an oncology clinical nurse calling the patient to review symptom management by phone. Conclusions: The median time to first symptom assessment in our historical control cohort is 7 days, with standard deviation of 7 days, suggesting potential room for improvement. Thus far, the online tool has been completed by one patient. Further data will be reported regarding the uptake of this tool, the tool’s impact on quality measures, and patient reported symptoms, adherence, and financial toxicity.


2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 238-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rory Sallach-Ruma ◽  
Jennifer Nieman ◽  
Jayashri Sankaranarayanan ◽  
Tom Reardon

The study objectives were to evaluate the correlates and outcomes of a parenteral (IV) to oral (PO) antimicrobial conversion program at a Midwest US Academic Medical Center with the hypothesis that it will be associated with reduced drug costs. Patient-level data (n = 237; sex, race, admission source, admission status, admission severity, risk of mortality [relative expected, admission], and early death) were extracted from the Clinical Data Base/Resource Manager. Medication-level, drug-encounter data (n = 317; antibiotic/dose/route/frequency/duration, conversion status, 10-day IV/PO switch-eligibility criteria) were extracted from patient’s hospital medical records. Univariate analyses using chi-square or Fisher’s exact test for categorical variables and Wilcoxon rank-sum test for continuous variables showed patients not converted (n = 149) versus converted (n = 88) at some point from IV to PO were more likely to be of white race and had higher risk of relative expected mortality. By applying the unit drug cost (derived from 2010 Thomson Reuters RED BOOKTM) and labor costs for IV/PO administration, both per dose, the overall 1-month drug cost-saving estimates in 2010 in US dollars were US$5242 from converting and US$8805 savings missed from not converting 518 and 1387 switch-eligible antibiotic doses, respectively. Despite sample-size limitations, this study demonstrated correlates and missed opportunities to convert antimicrobials from IV to PO, which warrants providers’ attention.


2010 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
William G. Boissonnault ◽  
Mary Beth Badke ◽  
Jane Megan Powers

Background and Purpose Despite legislative approval of direct access to physical therapy, other regulatory barriers and internal institutional policies often must be overcome before this practice model can be fully adopted. Few institutional initiatives have been published describing strategies designed to change policies restricting direct patient access. This case report describes steps and strategies associated with successful implementation of a direct access physical therapy model at a large academic medical center. Case Description The process of obtaining institutional medical board and hospital authority board approval and implementing a pilot program is described. Program details, including therapist qualifications and scope of practice, the required internal training program, and program outcome assessment, are provided. The therapist scope of practice includes the ability to refer patients directly to a radiologist for plain film radiography. Early pilot program findings, including challenges faced and subsequent actions, are described. Outcomes Reviewed patient care decisions by therapists participating in the pilot program were deemed appropriate 100% of the time by physician chart reviewers. Approximately 10% of the patients seen were referred to a radiologist for plain film imaging, and 4% and 16% of the patients were referred to physicians for pain medications or medical consultation, respectively. The pilot program's success led to institutional adoption of the direct access model in all physical therapy outpatient clinics. Discussion Autonomy is described, in part, as self-determined professional judgment and action. This case report describes such an effort at a large academic medical center. The interdependent, collaborative relationship among physical therapists, physicians, and hospital administrators has resulted in the implementation of a patient-centered practice model based on the premise of patient choice.


2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (9) ◽  
pp. 1009-1014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen A. Marquis ◽  
Jeremy R. DeGrado ◽  
Stephanie Labonville ◽  
David W. Kubiak ◽  
Paul M. Szumita

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (30_suppl) ◽  
pp. 254-254
Author(s):  
Daniel Aaron Roberts ◽  
Jim Doolin ◽  
Christina Cibotti ◽  
Rebekah A Hartwell ◽  
Mary Yenulevich ◽  
...  

254 Background: Oral chemotherapy is becoming more widely utilized within oncology. Concerns regarding poor adherence and toxicity may be addressed by providing patient education. Methods: We developed and implemented a pharmacist-led initial education session for patients newly prescribed oral chemotherapy in both an academic medical center gastrointestinal oncology clinic and an affiliated community oncology cancer center. We provided an education packet including drug-specific information, clinic contact telephone numbers, and a drug schedule calendar. Standardized teaching and documentation templates were used. Patients completed each education session with the MOATT teaching tool for patients receiving Oral Agents for Cancer V1.2. Assessment of compliance with the ASCO/ONS Chemotherapy Administration Safety Standards on Oral Chemotherapy Education was assessed through use of Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI) quality measures where applicable and compared to historical QOPI data from the academic medical center from 2015-2017. Results: Thirty-one patients were newly prescribed oral chemotherapy and received the initial education session from November 2017 through May 2018. Based on a monthly report generated of new oral chemotherapy prescriptions, after a seven-month run-in, the rate reached 100% of patients at both sites for the most recent month. When comparing the intervention cohort to the historical QOPI cohort using a one-sided P value of 0.017 with bonferroni correction, there was improvement in safe handling/storage (pre: 19%, post 100%, P = 0.0001), drug-drug and food interactions (pre: 31%, post 100%, P = 0.0001), and plan for missed doses (pre: 37%, post: 97%, P = 0.0001). A trend toward improvement was found for schedule/start date discussion (pre: 87%, post: 100% P = 0.018) and side effect/toxicities (pre: 87%, post: 100% P = 0.018). Conclusions: Implementation of an oral chemotherapy education session in both an academic and community setting was feasible and improved adherence to QOPI measures of oral chemotherapy education and ASCO/ONS standards for oral chemotherapy. Further data regarding time to clinical outcomes is forthcoming.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. e71-e76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nirav N. Shah ◽  
Erica Casella ◽  
Donna Capozzi ◽  
Suzanne McGettigan ◽  
Tara C. Gangadhar ◽  
...  

Purpose: Over the last decade, the use of oral chemotherapy (OC) for the treatment of cancer has dramatically increased. Despite their route of administration, OCs pose many of the same risks as intravenous agents. In this quality improvement project, we sought to examine our current process for the prescription of OC at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania and to improve on its safety. Methods: A multidisciplinary team that included oncologists, advanced-practice providers, and pharmacists was formed to analyze the current state of our OC practice. Using Lean Six Sigma quality improvement tools, we identified a lack of pharmacist review of the OC prescription as an area for improvement. To address these deficiencies, we used our electronic medical system to route OC orders placed by treating providers to an oncology-specific outpatient pharmacist at the Abramson Cancer Center for review. Results: Over 7 months, 63 orders for OC were placed for 45 individual patients. Of the 63 orders, all were reviewed by pharmacists, and, as a result, 22 interventions were made (35%). Types of interventions included dosage adjustment (one of 22), identification of an interacting drug (nine of 22), and recommendations for additional drug monitoring (12 of 22). Conclusion: OC poses many of the same risks as intravenous chemotherapy and should be prescribed and reviewed with the same oversight. At our institution, involvement of an oncology-trained pharmacist in the review of OC led to meaningful interventions in one third of the orders.


2002 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 95-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
JoAnn Manson ◽  
Beverly Rockhill ◽  
Margery Resnick ◽  
Eleanor Shore ◽  
Carol Nadelson ◽  
...  

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