Barriers in time to initiation of therapy for newly prescribed novel oral oncolytics.

Abstract

e18005 Background: Novel oral oncolytics have been incorporated into standard of care for many malignancies. With increasing utility of these medications, accessibility issues have emerged. The purpose of this study is to examine the time-to-therapy initiation of novel oral oncolytics and to identify barriers that result in delays and access issues. Methods: A retrospective review of our electronic data warehouse was performed of adults newly prescribed a novel oral oncolytic for FDA approved indications from 04/01/16 to 12/31/16. Exclusion criteria: traditional chemotherapy or previous treatment with the same agent. Primary outcome: time from date prescribed to date filled. Record of pharmacy transfer, manufacturer assistance, and delays in treatment were also extracted. Kruskall-Wallis and Mann Whitney U tests of association were performed to identify whether pharmacy transfers or manufacturer assistance were associated with delays in time to treatment filled. Fisher’s Exact tests were performed to identify drug or insurance related associations with delays. Results: Of our interim analysis of 92 patients who met inclusion criteria, 9 (9.8%) were insured by Medicaid, 32 (34.8%) by Medicare, 51 (55.0%) by private insurance or other. The median time between date prescribed and date filled was 6 days (range 0-109 days). The most frequently prescribed drug was palbociclib (n = 22, 23.9%). 25 (27.2%) of patients had a pharmacy transfer prior to receiving their drug, 15 (16.3%) patients received manufacturer assistance, and 17 (19%) of patients’ records indicated a delay. Transfers, manufacturer assistance, and delays each had a statistically significant relation with time-to-fill (p < 0.05), though none were significantly associated with drug or insurance type. Time-to-fill was not significantly associated with a particular drug or insurance type. Conclusions: As the landscape of oncology changes, barriers to treatment will be discovered as new novel agents are approved. Our study shows that potential exists to prevent treatment delays and improve access to care. By studying the factors affecting time-to-treatment, quality improvement initiatives can be developed to better streamline the process.