How Can Positive Quality Interventions Improve Oncology Patient Care?

A session held at the National Community Oncology Dispensing Association (NCODA) 2017 Fall Summit highlighted the importance of Positive Quality Interventions (PQIs) in patient-centered care in the oncology setting. PQIs, developed by a team of NCODA clinical pharmacists, provide medication management tools that focus on specific issues associated with managing oral cancer drug therapies.

In an interview with Pharmacy Times, Neal Dave, PharmD, of Texas Oncology, explained how PQIs can help pharmacists improve the treatment and management of oncology patients and achieve positive clinical outcomes. Based on evidence-based medicine, PQIs are designed to:

• identify and recommend appropriate therapy, recognizing the challenges inherent in keeping current with new drug approvals, new indications, and compendia/guideline updates
• minimize and manage the toxicities associated with treatment, with the goal of keeping patients on therapy as long as possible
• provide for the efficient operation of the dispensing process

More information on NCODA's PQIs can be found here: http://www.ncoda.org/positive-quality-interventions