1. We Can Be Your PAL, Too: A Deeper Look into a Collaborative Practice Pharmacist-Led Clinic in Ambulatory Palliative Care (CS367).
- Author
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Bacon, Molly, Kematick, Benjamin, Scullion, Bridget C., and Lally, Kate
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PALLIATIVE treatment , *MEDICATION therapy management , *OUTPATIENT medical care , *CANCER patients , *SATISFACTION - Abstract
1. Outline an innovative model for integrating pharmacist-led patient care into a palliative care clinic. 2. Review two patient-centered outcomes that are improved by a pharmacist-led clinic and highlight clinical characteristics of patients who benefit from pharmacy involvement. Pharmacists play several roles within the outpatient palliative care setting, and their involvement in patient care is associated with improved patient safety and clinical outcomes. At Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, pharmacists have participated in co-visits with the primary palliative care clinician since 2001, and in July of 2020, a collaborative drug therapy management clinic, "PharmPAL," was piloted. PharmPAL clinic allows credentialed pharmacists to lead follow-up palliative care visits encompassing patient assessments, counseling, education, ordering of laboratory tests, and prescribing and managing medication regimens. The goal of PharmPAL is to increase access to palliative care by expanding the availability of follow-up care to patients with intense symptom management needs. Primary reasons for PharmPAL referral include new consult requiring close follow-up, education and counseling, stable patient for refill review, schedule availability, and patients with recent or anticipated medication changes. PharmPAL volume has grown from 24 visits in its first quarter of operation to 96 visits in the most recent quarter. We have increased pharmacist availability to support this growth and have plans for further expansion with a third pharmacist joining PharmPAL clinic in 2023. Surveys have confirmed clinician satisfaction with the various models of pharmacist support, and we continue to use feedback to plan pharmacist involvement within the palliative care clinic and PharmPAL. The increase of patient encounters in the pharmacist-led clinic has aligned with a concomitant increase in outpatient clinic volume overall. In this session we will share data around the implementation and growth of this model as well as lessons learned and practical tips around developing a similar model in your own setting. We will further describe two case examples of oncology patients managed in the PharmPAL clinic to demonstrate the comanagement between the pharmacists, oncologists, and palliative care clinicians as well as give examples of patient-related outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
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