Background: Oncology pharmacy services aim to provide patients with the best possible care and access to appropriate and readily available treatments. Without local cytotoxic compounding facilities, a remote oncology pharmacy service presents a unique set of challenges including time and temperature sensitive treatment logistics.
Objective(s): To describe an Oncology Pharmacist’s important roles and responsibilities within a remote hospital setting.
Action (Method): As the sole oncology pharmacist in a remote setting, it is important the pharmacist is involved in every step of the patient journey; from pre-treatment assessment through to education, development and maintenance of chemotherapy care plans and succinctly ordering and checking the chemotherapy itself.
Evaluation: Consistent and thorough involvement and well-defined roles and responsibilities of the oncology pharmacist in a remote setting can result in accurate, consistent and organised medication prescribing, ordering, administration and documentation. This provides a remote oncology pharmacy service with a solid foundation in providing optimal patient care presently and into the future.
Discussion:
Infrastructure in remote settings to compound cytotoxic medicines is limited. The cancer journey is naturally subject to change with dose reductions and changes in therapy as well as urgent referrals to start treatment. Well organised and planned delivery times of medicines to a remote setting is integral. Treatments that are time sensitive and only allow a short window from manufacture to administration before expiry present a challenge in providing the best care. The pharmacist is a key source of information and advice for the team and patients, ensuring patients are provided the best care in a streamline fashion. A pharmacist in a remote setting is essential to provide knowledge and problem solving skills to ensure patients with cancer continually have proper access to highly specialised medicines and receive the best possible care.