Clinical pharmacy services in an ambulatory oncology clinic: Patient perception and satisfaction

Studies have shown that patients rate pharmacists more favourably when the pharmacist expresses interest in the patient and attends to patients' perspectives. There is limited available evidence evaluating both patient perception and satisfaction regarding clinical pharmacy services provided in an ambulatory oncology clinic.

This was a prospective mixed methods study involving surveys and patient interviews. Consenting participants completed a survey at their first visit evaluating their perceptions of the importance of the clinical pharmacy services offered in the ambulatory oncology clinic. They completed a second survey 6-8 weeks later to re-evaluate their perceptions and to measure satisfaction ratings. The final component of this study involved semi-structured one-on-one telephone interviews to gather qualitative data regarding the study objectives.

A total of 35 participants completed the survey, of which eleven completed one-on-one patient telephone interviews. Patients perceived the clinical pharmacy services assessed as important to their care before receiving treatment. The ratings of the importance of the pharmacist in managing patients' nausea/vomiting significantly decreased when remeasured, whereas the importance of meeting the pharmacist in the clinic significantly increased. The importance of the role of the pharmacist was highlighted in patient interviews as well: patients particularly valued the pharmacist's initiative to meet them in the clinic, the education provided by pharmacist, and the pharmacist's accessibility throughout treatment.

Overall, patients in the ambulatory oncology clinic perceived the services offered as important to their care and they were highly satisfied.