Evaluation of clinical pharmacists’ follow-up service in an oncology pain clinic

Abstract

Background: Patients who present with pain in an oncology setting are often complex and require a multidisciplinary approach for symptom control. The Pain and Symptom Control Clinic at Tom Baker Cancer Center includes two pharmacists who participate in weekly multidisciplinary clinics and provide a follow-up service to patients. Objective: This study will assess the impact of the pharmacists’ follow-up service with respect to activities performed as well as patient and health care professional satisfaction. The activities performed will also be compared to defined objectives for pharmacy practice in a hospital setting. Methods: Activities performed by the pharmacists over a 10-week period were recorded and tabulated. Online surveys were completed by health care professionals and telephone surveys were completed by patients 1 month post clinic visit. Results: Over 6 weeks, 44 patients assessed in clinic required follow-up from a pharmacist. There was an average of 2.3 interactions per patient and an average time of 85 min was spent on each patient outside of clinic. The three activities that occurred most frequently included: (1) interacting with other health care professionals, (2) making alterations to patients’ medication regimens, and (3) organizing refills. All health care professionals surveyed felt that the pharmacists’ follow-up service was a valuable component of the Pain and Symptom Control Clinic and nearly all patients surveyed reported a positive experience with the service received. Conclusion: The inclusion of pharmacists in the Pain and Symptom Control Clinic is favored by patients and health care professionals and provides increased efficiency to the clinic.