Collaborative Care: How Specialty Pharmacies and Manufacturers Improve Patient Outcomes with Personalized Monitoring Strategies for PARP Inhibitor Therapies

Autumn Zuckerman, PharmD, BCPS, CSP, Director of Health Outcomes at Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy, emphasized the importance of collaboration between health system specialty pharmacies and manufacturers during a presentation at the Asembia Specialty Pharmacy Summit. Zuckerman’s organization partnered with AstraZeneca to support patients starting poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor therapies. They found that many patients experienced side effects early on, with nearly a quarter discontinuing treatment and over half needing to reduce their dose.

To address these challenges, Zuckerman’s team collaborated with AstraZeneca to develop a personalized monitoring strategy. Pharmacists would contact patients at specific timepoints when they were likely to experience adverse effects, based on data provided by the manufacturer. Through these pharmacist-initiated discussions, the number of dose reductions decreased, and the duration of interruptions was shortened from 17 days to 7 days. Although discontinuation rates remained the same, there were fewer drug discontinuations related to adverse events.

Zuckerman noted that patients appreciated the additional touchpoint with the pharmacist, and pharmacists felt they were making a significant impact during these check-ins. This successful model is now the standard of care at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, allowing for improved patient outcomes through tailored monitoring strategies developed in collaboration between manufacturers and pharmacists.

Zuckerman highlighted during her presentation how discussions between manufacturers and pharmacists are crucial in creating personalized monitoring strategies that benefit patient care. This collaborative approach has proven to be effective in improving patient outcomes and optimizing treatment regimens for individuals starting PARP inhibitor therapies.