IS4-1 - Pharmaceutical Care for Patients Receiving Cancer Treatment

Abstract

The role of the Pharmacist in providing pharmaceutical care for oncology patients is dynamically changing. In the United States, the profession of Pharmacy has grown dramatically over the past decade. The Pharmacist's degree has changed from a Bachelor of Science to an entry level Doctor of Pharmacy. Graduates are flooding into the Hospital, Academic, and Ambulatory Clinic settings. As a result, postDoctoral training is becoming more common. In order to provide pharmaceutical care for patients receiving cancer treatment two years of postdoctoral training is recommended. Following postdoctoral specialty training, Oncology Specialty Pharmacists must continue to learn and read literature daily in order to keep up with the fast paced Oncology environment. Furthermore, Pharmacists are encouraged to take their board exams to become board certified in oncology pharmacy (BCOP). Oncology Pharmacist Specialists are involved in designing, monitoring, and changing chemotherapy for patients. They also play a prominent role in medical rounds in the day to day care of patients receiving chemotherapy. This entails formulating supportive care treatment plans for chemotherapy induced toxicities, infections, and their underlying comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, etc. Providing education is paramount to pharmaceutical care. Patients are educated by a Pharmacist on their chemotherapy regimen and their supportive care medications. Pharmacists also provide education to their Attending Physicians, fellows, residents, and students. Lastly, Oncology Pharmacists indirectly impact patients through clinical research, institutional guideline implementation, chemotherapy orderset building, and reporting of safety events.