IMPROVING PATIENT CARE AND REDUCING DRUG WASTE THROUGH NURSE-LED PRE-CALL SCREENING.
Significance & Background: At a small outpatient infusion center, chemotherapy and biologic medications are prepared offsite at the main hospital and de-livered daily. Because of this, it's essential to identify patients who may be ineligible for treatment before medications are compounded. Previous...
| Publicado en: | Oncology Nursing Forum Vol. 53; no. 2; pp. 7 - 9 |
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| Autores principales: | , , |
| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
Oncology Nursing Society
Mar2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=194211082&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 194211082 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 0190535X 4F0 jtl: Oncology Nursing Forum issn: 0190535X maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Mar2026 vid: 53 iid: 2 pid: 12496 pub: Oncology Nursing Society place: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania artinfo: ui: 194211082 10.1188/26.ONF.e26535272 194211082 ppf: 7 ppct: 2 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P tig: atl: IMPROVING PATIENT CARE AND REDUCING DRUG WASTE THROUGH NURSE-LED PRE-CALL SCREENING. aug: au: Fitzpatrick, Michael Berman, Kimberly Shine, Christa affil: MSN, RN, Fox Chase Cancer Center, East Norriton, PA sug: ab: Significance & Background: At a small outpatient infusion center, chemotherapy and biologic medications are prepared offsite at the main hospital and de-livered daily. Because of this, it's essential to identify patients who may be ineligible for treatment before medications are compounded. Previously, without a standardized pre-call process, some patients were not properly screened and arrived for appointments only to be cancelled on-site. This led to avoidable drug waste, inefficient use of resources, and unnecessary patient travel. Purpose: To decrease drug waste and improve operational efficiency by implementing a standardized pre-call screening template to assess patient eligibility prior to medication preparation and delivery. Interventions: * A structured pre-call screening tool was created for nursing staff. The template included specific questions focused on: new or worsening symptoms (e.g., fever, infection), lab result availability, recent hospitalizations or health changes, support or transportation issues. * Nurses were trained on consistent use of the tool during pre-appointment calls. * A communication workflow was developed to relay findings to the care team and pharmacy in a timely manner. Results: Cancellation rates increased from 4% to 8% after implementing the standardized pre-call screening process, as more patients were appropriately identified and rescheduled prior to medication preparation. This proactive approach led to a significant reduction in drug waste by avoiding the compounding of costly chemotherapy and biologic medications for patients ultimately deemed ineligible for treatment. Addition-ally, it minimized unnecessary travel for patients who would have otherwise been cancelled on-site, improving their overall experience. The intervention also enhanced coordination and communication among nursing staff, providers, and the pharmacy team. A financial assessment conducted in collaboration with pharmacy estimated an annual cost savings of $244,602 as a direct result of reduced drug waste. Discussion: While an increase in cancellations may seem negative, it reflects improved clinical screening and better resource use. The standardized pre-call process helped ensure that medications were only prepared for patients truly ready for treatment. This improved patient experience by avoiding unnecessary trips and stress and enhanced operational efficiency by reducing product loss. The success of this intervention highlights the value of nurse-led process improvements. Future steps include periodic review of the screening tool and exploring EMR integration to further streamline communication and decision-making. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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