PS-017 Using treatment protocols in the verification of oral anticancer drug prescriptions

Abstract

Background A lack of information at the time of dispensing has been identified as a barrier to the safe provision of Oral Anticancer Medicines (OAMs) by pharmacists. Access to cancer treatment protocols at the time of pharmacist dispensing is advocated by numerous professional bodies to ensure the safe supply of OAMs.1,2 Purpose To compare the number of OAM prescriptions that could be verified and safely dispensed with and without access to the treatment protocol, and to assess the use of these protocols by pharmacists. Material and methods One hundred OAM prescriptions were retrospectively reviewed to assess OAM verification with and without the treatment protocol. An electronic questionnaire was also distributed to 493 pharmacists. This questionnaire asked respondents to verify an OAM prescription with and without access to the treatment protocol and to comment on their experience and opinions. Results When using standard reference sources, the pharmacists had sufficient information to verify 7% (n = 7) of OAM prescriptions reviewed. Having access to the treatment protocol increased the number of prescriptions that could be verified to 16% (n = 16) (p = Conclusion Facilitating access to the treatment protocol at the time of dispensing of OAM increases the number of prescriptions that can be verified and safely dispensed. However, implementing this measure alone is insufficient to address the safety concerns associated with the dispensing of OAM prescriptions by non-specialist pharmacists. References Irish Medication Safety Network. IMSN briefing document on oral anticancer medicines. 2011 British Oncology Pharmacists Association (BOPA). Standards for the verification of prescriptions for cancer medicines. 2013 No conflict of interest.