The clinical and financial impact of remote clinical oncology pharmacist engagement in community-based practices within The US Oncology Network

• Published in: Journal of oncology pharmacy practice 2024-01, Vol.30 (1), p.165-172
• Main Authors: Carroll, Melissa, Koselke, Elizabeth, Howell, Josh, Cho, Judy, Roman, Andrea, Keisler, Meredith, Patel, Toral, Patel, Vimal, Mitchem, Tiffany, Yarbro, Laura, Hough, Shannon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Chemotherapy; Oncology; Pharmacists
• ISSN: 1078-1552; 1477-092X
• DOI: 10.1177/10781552231173860

Introduction The integration of clinical oncology pharmacists into multidisciplinary healthcare teams is not well-described in the community practice setting. This study aims to analyze the clinical and financial impact of a remote-based clinical oncology pharmacist in four community oncology practices within The US Oncology Network. Methods Oncology-trained clinical pharmacists electronically reviewed chemotherapy orders for clinical optimization and financial stewardship within four community oncology practices. Each pharmacist was appointed at 0.5 full-time equivalents per practice. Financial, clinical, and workload metrics were tracked to monitor the impact of pharmacist engagement. Results Over 12 months, 5716 order reviews were completed with an intervention rate of 57%. The most common interventions identified by the pharmacists were interventions with clinical impact on the patient (36%), followed by dose rounding (35%) and therapeutic interchange (30%). Overall, interventions improved the cumulative practice margins by $1,455,033 and reduced total medication costs by $5,962,551. The average program return on investment was 415% (range 100–915%). Conclusion Community oncology practices seek to provide high-value care in a lean, resource-constrained model. An oncology clinical pharmacist is a cost-effective and clinically invaluable care team member in community oncology practice. Pharmacists in this setting identified opportunities to improve medication safety and regimen optimization and demonstrated a significant tremendous financial impact on small-scale budgets in community oncology.