[Needs assessment for the establishment of an Oral Therapy Unit]

Oncological at home-treatment improves patient quality of life and autonomy but requires close watchfulness of adverse events and compliance to treatment. For nearly ten years, pharmaceutical consultations for home-based anticancer oral therapies patients are proposed on medical request in Avignon-Provence Cancer Institute (ICAP). Organizational changes led us to modify this management by integrating dedicated nurses to create an Oral Therapy Unit (OTU).

Needs and expectations assessment questionnaires were proposed to healthcare professionals and patients treated by oral therapies. The analysis of these questionnaires allows to set up an OTU, integrating a dedicated nurse, adapted to the expectations of patients and healthcare professionals. About 8 months later, a new evaluation was carried out to assess the impact of this new support for patient care and health professionals' organization.

The results of the studies carried out before OTU implementation highlight the importance of multi-professional support for patients from the start of treatment and during the follow-up. With the new OTU pathway, professionals expect a patient course improvement (94%), a better compliance (88%), a therapeutic accidents reduction (81%) and an improvement in the patient-caregiver relationship (69%). Regarding the organization, 56% of them are expecting to save medical and pharmaceutical time.

The OTU creation in our institution and these new multi-professionals' teams' management of patients has obtained a favourable opinion from healthcare professionals and patient satisfaction.