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    Nursing and Allied Health Symposium

    Category: Nursing & Allied Health Symposium

    Describing the Impact on Patients Starting Myeloma Therapy by a Myeloma Care Pharmacist in a Specialized Community Oncology Pharmacy Setting

    (NSP-18) Describing the Impact on Patients Starting Myeloma Therapy by a Myeloma Care Pharmacist in a Specialized Community Oncology Pharmacy Setting

    Thursday, September 18, 2025
    Introduction: Oral therapies have improved overall survival for patients with multiple myeloma (MM) in recent decades, and MM can be considered a chronic disease.1 Most MM care is provided in the outpatient setting and patients and care partners need to take on a larger responsibility in disease management.  Triple and quadruple MM therapies have moved to earlier lines due to their efficacy, meaning patients are taking complex treatments for the majority of their care, which often includes oral and injectable therapies. Additionally, most patients with MM are diagnosed at 65 years or older and manage other co-morbidities and medications.

    In the community, a     specialized myeloma care pharmacy program provides early patient assessment during prescription verification, medication reviews, and patient counselling. At treatment start, pharmacists with expertise in myeloma can identify drug therapy problems (DTPs) early and make necessary interventions. A DTP is any undesirable event or risk of an event experienced by the patient involving their drug therapy and interferes with their goals of therapy. DTPs require professional judgment to resolve and prevent further clinical consequences. In 2021, 14 ambulatory oncology clinical pharmacy key performance indicators  (AOcpKPIs) were identified by Canadian oncology pharmacist expert consensus as evidence-based services that oncology pharmacists perform that impact patient care and outcomes in the outpatient setting.2  Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) has published a reference on best practices for delivery of take home cancer drugs (THCDs).3 These recommendations and the 14 AOcpKPIs have been integrated into the pharmacy workflow.
    The study aim is to show the impact of early pharmacist involvement in a community specialty oncology pharmacy for patients with MM and to describe the quality of patient care through measurement of DTPs and AOcpKPIs identified during the initial patient interaction. 

    Methods:

    A retrospective descriptive cohort study will be completed. Patients with MM initiated on lenalidomide, p</span>omalidomide, and selinexor from April 28, 2025 to August 31, 2025 will be included in data collection and analysis. Outcomes to measure include:  Number of DTPs identified and number of AOcpKPIs identified during initial patient counseling. 



     


    Results:

     



    Total of 16 patients (30 interactions) were included in the study to date. Total number of DTPs identified and resolved during the initial dispense and patient counseling session was 67, with a mean of 4 per patient. For the 16 patients, pharmacists completed a total of 121 AOcpKPIs during initial dispense and patient counseling (84 during initial dispense, 37 during the counsels), with a mean of 5 per initial dispense and 2 per counsel. 


    Conclusions:

    Following evidence-based practice by incorporating CCO recommendations and  AOcpKPIs into the pharmacy workflow, specialized myeloma care pharmacists in a community specialty oncology pharmacy were able to make an impact on patient care by identifying and resolving DTPs.