Palliative care in cancer patients : evaluating pharmacist intervention in a hospice setting

Abstract

Study objectives: To evaluate intervention of a pharmacist within a multidisciplinary team regardin patient compliance with medication and impact on quality of life (QoL). Method: Thirty-two patients receiving palliative care under the auspices of the Malta Hospice Movement (MHM) were recruited, three home visits were carried out for each patient. Educating patients regarding their medicines, recommending drug therapies, monitoring therapeutic outcomes and identifying druf-related problems were interventions carried out by the pharmacist during home visits. At the first visit, before any pharmacist intervention, QoL and compliance were evaluated using the McGil QoL tool and a compliance questionnaire (baseline). QoL and compliance were re-evaluated after the pharmacist’s intervention during the following two visits. Results: Of the 32 patients recruited, 28 completed the study (88%), four patients died. Out of the 28 participants, 16 (57%) were male and 12 (43%) were female. The number of fully compliant participants increased from 11 patients (39%) in visit 1 to 16 patients (57%) in visit 2 and 20 patients (71%) in visit 3 (p = 0.053). All scores for the five domains of the McGill QoL questionnaire improved after the visits, with a statistically significant improvement in physical symptoms (p < 0.001> domains. Conclusions: Evaluation of the pharmacist’s intervention indicated a positive impact on the compliance to medicines and patients’ QoL. This highlights the fact that a pharmacist can have an important contribution towards the provision of palliative care within a multidisciplinary team in a hospice care setting.