The Role of the Specialty Pharmacist in Treating Cystic Fibrosis
Specialty pharmacists can positively impact adherence and quality of life for CF patients.
What once was considered a disease destined to end in childhood mortality, has now seen median age of survival jump into the 40s with the advent of new and more effective therapies.1
These historic advances in the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF) over the last decade have enabled CF patientsto not only live longer, but to do so with an improved quality of life.
Coordination of care and complex treatment regimens can make disease management challenging and often times overwhelming for CF patients and their caregivers. Specialty pharmacists can play a vital role in supporting patients and caregivers in the management of their CF treatment regimen. Through educating patients and caregivers on their medications and therapies and addressing patient-reported issues, the specialty pharmacist can have a positive impact on adherence as well as quality of life.
Here are four ways specialty pharmacists care for CF patients
1. Help you stay on plan. Adherence to the daily CF medication regimen is a struggle for many patients, with overall medication adherence at just under 50%.2 Medication non-adherence has many implications including, poor patient health outcomes, increased CF-related hospitalizations and higher health care costs.2 Specialty pharmacists have the ability to positively influence a patient’s adherence to their medication regimen through timely, patient-centered interventions. By providing education about medication administration and potential adverse events, along with ongoing counseling on how to manage adherence or other barriers to therapy,specialty pharmacists can help patients become more comfortable with their daily medication routine.
2. Ease your anxiety about your CF medications. Patients and caregivers may feel a certain level of anxiety with new medication additions or changes. Specialty pharmacists can ease some of this anxiety by engaging patients and caregivers in discussions about their medications. These conversations in part should aim to go beyond standard medication counseling and include administration technique, place in therapy, potential medication benefits and lab monitoring parameters. Time should also be devoted to reinforcing the benefits of nutrition and fitness and most importantly addressing patient questions and concerns.
3. Provide regular touch points. It is important to keep in mind that each patient’s CF journey will be unique. CF patients may experience periods with minimal adherence issues and other times when a higher level of support will be needed. Specialty pharmacists should direct ongoing counseling and education to the patient’s specific adherence barriers and therapy concerns, keeping in mind what may work for one patient may not for another. Regular touch points between the patient and specialty pharmacist also allows for the opportunity to follow-up on other CF-related health conditions and medications.
4. Lead a team dedicated to your CF journey. At AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy, a team of specialty-trained pharmacists provides comprehensive medication and condition counseling at the start of therapy and throughout as needed. On an ongoing basis, patient care advocates (PCA) proactively outreach to patients with refill reminders. During this patient outreach, the PCA uses proprietary software to identify any medication related adverse events, adherence barriers or worsening CF-related symptoms. Any patient with an identified issue or concern is offered consultation with a pharmacist. The pharmacist then provides prompt counseling including management tips specific to the patient’s reported issue or concern. Additionally, patient-reported issues are communicated to the patient’s CF care team as needed. This proactive patient support is key in mitigating discontinuation or lapse in therapy and improving adherence along with overall quality of life.
Whether providing care for a newly diagnosed CF patient or an established CF patient, the specialty pharmacist plays an important role in the care continuum. This collaborative approach enables the pharmacistand the patient (and caregiver) to work together towards the best possible outcomes from his or her medication regimen.
Sources:
1 2018 Patient Registry Annual Data Report. Cystic Fibrosis Foundation website. Published August 2019. Accessed June 15, 2020.https://www.cff.org/Research/Researcher-Resources/Patient-Registry/2018-Patient-Registry-Annual-Data-Report.pdf
2 Quittner AL, Zhang J, Marynchenko M, et al. Pulmonary medication adherence and health-care use in cystic fibrosis. CHEST. July 2014Volume 146, Issue 1, Pages 142–151. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1378/chest.13-1926.