Impact of a pharmacist-led telehealth oral chemotherapy clinic

Oral oncolytics come with significant concerns of noncompliance due to complex regimens, adverse effects, and high overall costs. The Geisinger Oral Chemotherapy Clinic is a fully telephone-based medication therapy disease management (MTDM) program designed to integrate pharmacists as advanced practitioners in hematology/oncology clinics for comanagement of oral chemotherapy.

To date, Geisinger has 11 oncology clinics and 3 full-time pharmacists designated to the management of oral chemotherapy. Pharmacists receive referrals for comanagement of patients starting oral oncolytics. Under a collaborative practice agreement, they can order laboratory tests as well as supportive care medications and refills. Pharmacists review planned therapies, perform medication reconciliations, and provide medication counseling. Once treatment has been initiated, pharmacists contact patients for laboratory and toxicity assessments. The clinic incorporates the use of customized smart data elements within the electronic medical record to collect data regarding pharmacist interventions and time allocations in the clinic. As of March 31, 2021, the clinic was actively following approximately 1,100 patients, resulting in an average of 80 to 90 encounters per day for new referrals, chemotherapy education, and laboratory and toxicity assessments. Approximately 2,113 patients were followed from December 1, 2019, to March 31, 2021, with 46,929 interventions documented.

By obtaining provider buy-in for pharmacy services, acquiring enough personnel resources to meet the needs of the growing patient population and respective therapies, and proper utilization of technology, the program has thrived, allowing for increased provider and patient satisfaction. Future goals include expanding collection of pharmacist intervention metrics and analysis of patient perceptions of services provided by the clinic.