Impact of an Oral Antineoplastic Renewal Clinic on Medication Possession Ratio and Cost-Savings

• Published in: Federal practitioner Vol. 38; no. 3; pp. e8 - e14
• Main Authors: Crawford, Brooke S, Stauder, Alison L, Bullington, Susan M, Kiel, Patrick J, Dark, Erin R, Johnson, Jill M, Zillich, Alan J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Frontline Medical Communications Inc 01.03.2021
• Subjects: Original Study
• ISSN: 1078-4497; 1945-337X
• DOI: 10.12788/fp.0107

The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a pharmacist-driven oral antineoplastic (OAN) renewal clinic on medication adherence and cost savings. This was a preimplementation and postimplementation retrospective cohort evaluation within a single US Department of Veterans Affairs health care system following implementation of a pharmacist-managed OAN refill clinic. The primary outcome was medication adherence defined as the median medication possession ratio (MPR) before and after implementation of the clinic. Secondary outcomes included the proportion of patients who were adherent from pre- to postimplementation and estimated cost-savings of this clinic. Patients were eligible for inclusion if they had received at least 2 prescriptions of the most commonly prescribed oral antineoplastic agents at the institution between September 1, 2013 and January 31, 2015. Of preimplementation patients, 96 of 99 (96.9%) were male and all patients (n = 35) in the postimplementation group were male. The mean age of the preimplementation group was 69.2 years while the postimplementation group was 68.4 years. Median MPR in the preimplementation group was 0.94, compared with 1.06 in the postimplementation group ( < .001). Thirty-six (36.7%) patients in the preimplementation group were considered nonadherent to their OAN regimen compared with zero patients in the postimplementation group. Estimated total cost savings was $36,335 in the postimplementation period. Implementation of a pharmacist-driven OAN renewal clinic was associated with a 12% increase in median MPR while saving an estimated $36,335 during the 5-month postimplementation period.