Oral chemotherapy safety practices at US cancer centres

Saul N Weingart, Jonathan Flug, Daniela Brouillard, Laurinda Morway, Ann Partridge, Sylvia Bartel, Lawrence N Shulman, Maureen Connor. BMJ, doi:10.1136/bmj.39069.489757.55 (published 12 January 2007)

Adherence Monitoring

This report of a questionnaire survey of 42 responding cancer treatment centers on their protocols for administering the increasingly used oral chemotherapy agents reveals several potential problem areas.

A single finding regarding compliance however, caught my eye:

Commentary

While monitoring adherence to protocols for such potent agents is surely indicated, I am (cynically) surprised that 75% of the Centers claim to formally monitor adherence and wonder (again, cynically) if such monitoring consists of more than a self-report by the patient.

In any case, this survey provides insight into the psychological complexities of clinicians’ perceptions of the risk of adverse side-effects. That safety protocols appear to be significantly attenuated if a medication is administered orally rather than by i.v. is revealing.

• Patient Acceptance Of Monitoring
• Patient Acceptance Of Monitoring: Followup Info From Intel's Health Systems Research Lab
• Contracting For Medication Adherence
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• Automated Incentives For Medication Adherence