The Impact of Emergency Medicine Clinical Pharmacy Services in an Oncology Center

Context: Despite numerous studies on clinical pharmacy services in emergency departments (EDs), their specific impact on cancer patient management remains insufficiently described. Aims: This study aims to evaluate the impact of clinical pharmacy services on the management of cancer patients treated in the ED. Settings and Design: A retrospective study conducted in the ED of a comprehensive cancer center in Jordan from March 2021 to February 2022. Materials and Methods: Clinical pharmacists in the ED conducted comprehensive assessments of patients, including their medical condition, medication history, laboratory findings, and prescribed medications. Clinical interventions and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were recorded in the pharmacy electronic system. The impact of pharmacists was evaluated by analyzing the nature of clinical interventions, the types and severity of ADRs, and the medications involved. Statistical Analysis Used: Descriptive analysis was used to report the findings. Results: Over the study period, a total of 3190 interventions were documented, involving 1285 patients. The most common type of intervention was drug therapy recommendations ( n = 1119, 35.1%), with antibiotics comprising the largest portion ( n = 919, 28.8%). of these interventions, 656 (20.6%) involved medications classified as high-alert based on the Institute of Safe Medical Practices. Clinical pharmacists recorded 434 ADRs, with hematological reactions being the most common ( n = 226, 52%), predominantly associated with docetaxel-based regimens ( n = 70, 16.1%). Among the reported ADRs, 235 (54.1%) resulted in hospital admission and 14 (3.2%) resulted in admission to the intensive care unit. Conclusions: ED clinical pharmacy services were associated with a significant impact, primarily in the areas of drug therapy recommendations and the identification of significant ADRs.