Pharmacist-Driven Oral Oncolytic Medication Education and Consent

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Pharmacy Practice
• Patient Education

Background:

• Oral oncolytics are increasingly used in cancer treatment, presenting unique challenges due to potential adverse effects.
• Effective patient education is crucial for managing side effects and improving outcomes with oral cancer therapies.
• The University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center (UNM CCC) serves a diverse population, including minority, rural, and economically disadvantaged groups, necessitating tailored patient support.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement and evaluate a pharmacist-driven patient education and consent process for oral oncolytics.
• To assess the impact of this program on patient education rates within a specific underserved population.
• To determine if the education process affected the time required for benefit investigation.

Main Methods:

• A pharmacist-led education and consent process was implemented from August 2016 to October 2018.
• Statistical process control charts monitored the percentage of patients receiving education and consent.
• Time for benefit investigation was tracked as a balancing metric.

Main Results:

• The initial patient education and consent rate was 17.9%, rapidly increasing to an average of 87.0% after implementation.
• Further refinements boosted the education rate to 95.7%, demonstrating significant improvement (P = .0025).
• The time for benefit investigation remained unchanged, indicating no negative impact on workflow.

Conclusions:

• A pharmacist-driven education and consent program is feasible and effective for patients initiating oral oncolytic therapy.
• The program successfully educated the majority of patients, particularly within the targeted underserved population.
• Future efforts should focus on patient adherence and extending education to patients receiving prescriptions outside the center.