[Effects of Introducing PBPM for Outpatient Cancer Drug Therapy and Its Impact on Physician Workload]

In May 2022, Hyogo Medical University Hospital introduced protocol-based pharmacotherapy management(PBPM), which is jointly planned by doctors and pharmacists, for certain cancer drug therapies. Colorectal cancer patients who underwent outpatient cancer chemotherapy in the Department of Lower Gastrointestinal Surgery from October to December 2021(before the introduction of PBPM)and from May to August 2022(after the introduction of PBPM)were retrospectively studied. The proportion of clinical examinations performed, number of prescription questions, and time taken by pharmacists to solve the prescription questions before and after the introduction of PBPM were compared. Additionally, the number of modifications made in the medical record by pharmacists on behalf of doctors in response to the prescription questions was assessed. The proportion of clinical examinations performed(clinical examinations actually performed/clinical examinations that should have been performed)improved from 93.2%(260/279)before to 98.8%(405/410)after the introduction of PBPM(p<0.001). The number of prescription questions decreased from an average of 64.7(±11.9)per month before to an average of 29.5(±3.4)per month after the introduction of PBPM. The average number of modifications made in the medical record by pharmacists on behalf of the doctors in response to the prescription questions was 25.8(±5.4)per month after the introduction of PBPM. There was no significant difference before and after the introduction of PBPM in regard to the median(interquartile range)time taken by pharmacists to solve the prescription questions (before PBPM: 1.88 minutes per case[1.70-2.28 minutes]; after PBPM: 1.71 minutes per case[1.61-2.06 minutes][p= 0.75]). The increased proportion of clinical examinations performed after the implementation of PBPM may have improved the safety of cancer drug management, and the decreased number of prescription questions is speculated to have led to a reduction in physician workload.