Oral Presentation Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2021

Impact of COVID-19 on the delivery of pharmacy services to patients with cancer; regional (Oceania and Asia) response from an international survey (#26)

Gail Rowan 1 , Daniel McKavanagh 2 , Grace Chazan 3 4 , Jennifer Jupp 5 , Tiene Bauters 6 7 , Nick Duncan 8 , Kellie Jones Weddle 9 , Hisanaga Nomura 10 , Shaun O'Connor 11 12 , Alexandre Chan 13 , Marliese Alexander 1 3
  1. Pharmacy, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  2. Office of the Chief Clinical Information Officer, Queensland Health, Queensland Australia , Queensland , Australia
  3. Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
  4. Department of Medical Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  5. Pharmacy Services, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
  6. Pharmacy Dept, France Duvivier, Verviers, Belgium
  7. Pharmacy Dept, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium
  8. Pharmacy Dept, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK
  9. College of Pharmacy, Purdue University, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
  10. Department of Data Science/Pharmacy, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Japan
  11. Commissioning and System Improvement Division, Dept of Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  12. Pharmacy Dept, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  13. Department of Clinical Pharmacy Practice, University of California, Irvine, California, USA

Aims: The COVID-19 pandemic changed how health workers performed their roles. During 2020 the International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners (ISOPP) led an international collaboration and survey of cancer pharmacy organisations and practitioners aiming to report on the impact of COVID-19 on cancer pharmacists and their services. The Cancer Pharmacists Group (CPG) of COSA represented Australia in the collaboration and here present data for the Oceania and Asian regions.

Methods: The survey was distributed during September and October 2020 with 199/862 responses from Oceania/Asia, 37 from Oceania (35 Australia, 2 New Zealand) and 162 from Asia. Survey questions related to pharmacy workforce/services, practitioner wellbeing, and patient care.

Results: Most respondents were pharmacists (n=184, 92.5%), mostly with over 5 years’ experience. Thirty-four (17%) respondents worked directly with COVID-19 patients (with cancer n=21, without cancer n=13). Workforce changes included increased operational and direct clinical roles and work hours with non-core roles (eg: research and education) decreasing. Respondents reported working increased or altered hours (53.5%), cancelled leave (63.5%), forced leave (30%), increased remote working (25%), reduced access to N95 masks (61.5%), increased use of digital technologies for patient communications (24% video, 34.5% non-video), changes to cancer treatment pathways (46% delayed/altered intervals for curative intent treatments), and impacts on practitioners mental health (58%). Responses indicated service impacts were less significant for Oceania/Asia than worldwide, likely explained by lower COVID-19 population burden in the time period surveyed.

Conclusions: This survey, first of its kind among cancer pharmacy practitioners, showed that the COVID-19 pandemic altered the way cancer pharmacy services were delivered and demonstrated that adaptability was key to continuation of pharmacy services.  Evaluation of changes to workforce and service delivery models is required to guide responses both within the ongoing pandemic and future events, including consideration of more permanent changes shaping the profession moving forward.