Autumn Zuckerman, PharmD, BCPS, CSP, Director of Health Outcomes at Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy, uses data from real-world case studies to demonstrate how valuable collaborative relationships between health system specialty pharmacies and manufacturers can be. I have proven that there is.
Zuckerman's organization partnered with AstraZeneca for patients starting poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor therapy. “We found that this drug had many side effects early in treatment, with almost a quarter of patients discontinuing treatment. [and] More than half had to reduce their dose,” Zuckerman said. To address these challenges, Zuckerman's team worked with AstraZeneca to develop a customized monitoring strategy. Based on data shared by AstraZeneca, pharmacists called patients at specific points when they knew they might be experiencing side effects. As a result of these pharmacist-led discussions, “we were able to reduce the number of dose reductions and shorten the discontinuation period from 17 days to 7 days.” Dr. Zuckerman noted that drug discontinuations have decreased.
“From a patient perspective, we found that they appreciated the additional touchpoints and check-in with the pharmacist and found it to be of great benefit,” Zuckerman said. I feel like I was able to make a big impact.”
This model is now the standard of care at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, she added.
“It came out of a discussion between the manufacturer and the pharmacist, who knew the drug well. [together we] We developed a customized monitoring strategy to improve patient outcomes.
Mr. Zuckerman sat down. drug topics The announcement was made at AXS24, the Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit held in Las Vegas, Nevada from April 28th to May 2nd. Click here for more information on AXS24 coverage.