Expanding pharmacy practice through the use of pharmacy technicians as process navigators to facilitate patient access of oral anticancer agents.

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  • Author(s): Lau G; Alwan L; Chi M; Lentz M; Hone K; Segal E
  • Source:
    Journal of the American Pharmacists Association : JAPhA [J Am Pharm Assoc (2003)] 2019 Jul - Aug; Vol. 59 (4), pp. 586-592. Date of Electronic Publication: 2019 Apr 26.
  • Publication Type:
    Journal Article
  • Language:
    English
  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: Elsevier Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101176252 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1544-3450 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 10865802 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Am Pharm Assoc (2003) Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Publication: 2016- : New York : Elsevier
      Original Publication: Washington, DC : American Pharmacists Association, c2003-
    • Subject Terms:
      Antineoplastic Agents/*administration & dosage ; Pharmaceutical Services/*organization & administration ; Pharmacists/*organization & administration ; Pharmacy Technicians/*organization & administration; Administration, Oral ; Cancer Care Facilities ; Health Services Accessibility ; Humans ; Neoplasms/drug therapy ; Nurses/organization & administration ; Patient Education as Topic/methods ; Pilot Projects ; Professional Role ; Time Factors
    • Abstract:
      Objectives: Over the past 20 years, there has been an increase in the number of Food and Drug Administration-approved oral anticancer agents. Treatment with the use of these medications can offer patients many benefits, including increased convenience and improved quality of life. However, oral anticancer therapies are associated with significant challenges, including cost and difficulties in obtaining the medication.
      Setting: Oncology pharmacists and nurses at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance oversaw the entire process of oral anticancer therapies, from obtaining signatures and insurance authorization to completing patient education and sending the prescription to the preferred pharmacy. This often led to duplicative efforts and challenges with communication amongst all the team members.
      Practice Description: The pharmacy department piloted a trained pharmacy technician who was provided the role of process navigator to facilitate and coordinate the entire insurance authorization and patient assistance process involved in obtaining access to oral anticancer medications. Before implementation of the program, the average time spent in total for each oral anticancer prescription was 45.8 minutes for the clinic nurses, 21.8 minutes for the clinical pharmacists, and 45.8 minutes for the pharmacy billing technicians. There was an 89.7% success rate in obtaining these medications for patients.
      Results: After implementation of this program, the pharmacy technician serving as the process navigator significantly improved efficiency and required an average of 59.5 minutes to complete the same steps, compared with 114 minutes before implementation. After program implementation, it was also observed that the pharmacist and nurse were spending much less time on the insurance authorization process. After implementation of this new role, the success rate of obtaining oral anticancer medications increased to 93.1%.
      Conclusion: This innovative initiative expanded the scope of practice for pharmacy technicians and enabled the other team members to spend time on more clinical activities.
      (Copyright © 2019 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
    • Accession Number:
      0 (Antineoplastic Agents)
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20190501 Date Completed: 20200714 Latest Revision: 20200714
    • Publication Date:
      20221213
    • Accession Number:
      10.1016/j.japh.2019.03.003
    • Accession Number:
      31036528