Abstract
Abstract Background The prevalence of IBD is rising globally, and in the UK has risen from 328/100,000 in the 90s to 970/100,000 in 2017 [1]. This, together with a rapidly expanding and more complicated range of therapeutic options has necessitated the need for proactive management, intervention and monitoring of patients. Through a combination of Physician, Nurse and Pharmacist clinics, we provide a comprehensive IBD outpatient service to meet these requirements in line with UK IBD standards [2]. Our pharmacist-led clinic prescribes initial treatments (JAK inhibitors, immunomodulators and ongoing prescribing of biologic therapy infliximab and vedolizumab) to ensure effective close monitoring, correct dose adjustments, therapeutic drug monitoring and early identification of possible side effects to the new treatments. Methods The study aims to identify all referrals and clinical outcomes to the pharmacist clinic during the period between January to August 2024. All patients are appointed from our weekly IBD Multidisciplinary team (MDT) meeting. The data is obtained from the IBD MDT log. Results During the period analysed of the pharmacist clinic activity, the drug distribution was as follows: JAK inhibitor 35.9% (14 patients), thiopurines monotherapy 25.6% (10 patients) and combination therapy anti-TNF + immunomodulators and allopurinol if shunting 38.5% (15 patients). The total number of patients reviewed during this period was 39, accumulating a total of 289 appointments which equates to an average 7.4 appointments per patient over this period. During the analysed period 234 cases were discussed at IBD MDT. 39 cases (16.7%) were referred to the pharmacist to conduct treatment initiation and drug monitoring. The pharmacist referred 21 cases (7.27%) to IBD MDT for new discussion resulting in 26 agreed-upon outcomes by the IBD team as detailed below. Some patient reviewed had more than one outcome. Conclusion Two specialist IBD pharmacists (Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) 0.6) are the essential part of the IBD multidisciplinary team, providing early identification of treatment failure or serious adverse effects, and closer monitoring of patients with monthly appointment on average. The 26 clinical outcomes demonstrated an effective model for more personalised medicine. Therefore, it integrates an additional pathway for patients' management. The model of care aligns with UK national recommendations and showcases the positive impact that specialist pharmacists as non-medical prescribers can assist in over-stretched conventional IBD services.
Published Version
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