Assessment of patient perceptions of counselling on oral antineoplastic agents by a dedicated cancer services pharmacist in an outpatient cancer clinic

Abstract

Background Oral antineoplastic agents have caused a paradigm shift in cancer treatment, however, they produce many unique challenges. Although oral antineoplastics can have complex administration regimes, low adherence rates and high possibilities of drug-drug interactions, they are administered unsupervised at home. Cancer services pharmacists have the required skillsets to improve patient outcomes associated with oral antineoplastic treatment by increasing patient health literacy, improving concordance and optimising administration protocols. Aim To evaluate patients’ perceptions, experiences and overall satisfaction with dedicated clinical pharmacist consultations in patients treated with oral antineoplastic agents at a major public hospital. Method In this retrospective cross-sectional study at a quaternary hospital in Western Australia, data were collected by a paper questionnaire (mailed in March 2022) to a random sample of 191 patients initiated on oral antineoplastic drugs between January 2021 and February 2022. Demographics, prescribed antineoplastic drug/s, cancer type data were collected including using 5-point Likert scale questions assess patients’ overall satisfaction with the clinical pharmacist consultations. Results The questionnaire response rate was 27.7% (52/188) (mean age 63.2 years; 57.5% female). Most patients (42/52; 80.8%) were satisfied with pharmacist consultations, trusted the pharmacist’s advice (45/52; 86.5%), considered that the pharmacist improved their understanding of how to manage side effects (43/52; 82.7%) and they provided an important service in outpatient care (45/52; 86.5%). Conclusion Overall, patients reported positive perceptions, experiences, and satisfaction with the cancer services pharmacist counselling services during their oral antineoplastic treatment.