Oncology pharmacist opportunities: Closing the gap in quality care

Abstract

Purpose ASCO has worked to facilitate the improvement in quality oncology care via the development of the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI). The extent to which the ASCO QOPI identifies areas in which pharmacists may enhance care is not known. These findings are important, as pharmacists areanintegral part of the care team, providing direct clinical care in addition to medication use guidelines and practice-based policies. In addition, high-performing practices may receive reimbursement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Methods Three pharmacists reviewed 200 QOPI measures for potential pharmacist involvement. We used the Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association Scope of Practice document and a validated summary of services provided by board-certified oncology pharmacists to identify which practice domains and pharmacy services would best fit the care provided by the selected QOPI measures. Results A total of 177 QOPI measures were analyzed. Potential areas of pharmacist impact were identified in 67 (38%) of the included metrics. Measures largely related to optimizing drug therapy through the development and implementation of pharmacy guidelines. Patient counseling andsymptommanagement are services that best described themajorityofQOPI measures deemed actionable by a pharmacist. We also found that several QOPI measures pharmacists can intervene upon overlapwithmetrics currently assessed for reimbursement via theCenters forMedicareandMedicaidServicesMerit-BasedIncentivePayment System. Conclusion Oncology pharmacists are uniquely positioned to improve the quality of care provided to patients with cancer within the team-based setting.