P130 Pharmacist-led osteoporosis telephone service

Abstract

Background/Aims The COVID-19 pandemic has made finding ways to consult suitable patients remotely a priority. We have introduced a telephone assessment clinic, run by our departmental pharmacist, to assess and treat patients with osteoporosis who have been referred from primary care for consideration of parenteral bone sparing therapy. Methods Patients with osteoporosis who have been referred from primary care were triaged electronically into a fortnightly telephone assessment clinic, according to pre-specified criteria. Prior to the appointment, information leaflets about osteoporosis, and treatments for this condition were posted to the patients. The telephone consultation was carried out and patient demographics, risk factors for fracture, bone density results, FRAX / NOGG assessment, treatment decisions, and other clinical details were recorded on a pro-forma. A satisfaction survey was sent out to each patient following consultation. Results Sixty patients were assessed between July 2020 and April 2021. Fiftyseven (95%) were female, and the mean age was 71 years. Following consultation, twenty-one were commenced on zoledronic acid, eighteen on denosumab, three on teriparatide and eighteen no treatments /other. Average time from referral to consultation was 1.75 months. Thirty-four patient satisfaction surveys were returned. Twenty-nine (85%) patients said they would be happy for consultations via telephone in the future, with twenty-five patients (74%) either likely or highly likely to recommend telephone consultation to family or friends. When asked to compare their experience of telephone to faceto- face consultations; twenty (58%) reported being indifferent, four (12%) said their experience was poorer or significantly poorer than face-to-face, and ten (29%) said their experience was better or significantly better. Mean saving on travel expenses was 0-5 (41% of patients) with four patients (12%) saving 21+. Mean mileage saved was < 5 miles (33% of patients), with seven patients (21%) saving 30+ miles on travel. Conclusion This study reveals that patients, overall, had a positive experience with a pharmacist-led telephone consultation. Such clinics could be implemented across other areas of our rheumatology service, if clinically appropriate; reducing unnecessary patient contact, reducing consultant work load and optimally utilizing skills of the wider multidisciplinary team. Face-to-face consultations still have an essential role where physical examination may be required, or patients have communication barriers. Our sample size was small, and data collection is on-going.