Overview

Oncology drugs are both high-risk in nature and costly, creating complex challenges for hospitals. To address these issues, Mohawk Medbuy (MMC) introduced a comprehensive Clinical Implementation Package to help hospitals safely and easily integrate new drugs into their treatment procedures and facilitate access for vulnerable patients who might otherwise not be able to afford the medication.

The Challenge

Adding new drugs to a hospital’s formulary creates many operational challenges due to the different methods required to prepare, administer and store each drug. Oncology drugs are especially challenging because they can create risks for the clinicians handling them if specific safe handling methods are not followed. 

Moreover, due to the high cost of these drugs, they’re accompanied with strict eligibility and funding requirements that make some patients ineligible to receive these lifesaving therapies. While some manufacturers offer compassionate coverage that provides the drugs for free to some patients, the process to determine eligibility is complex. That can lead to a delay in starting crucial treatment. 

“Time is life in cancer care,” said Mera Guindy, Clinical Director of Pharmacy Services at MMC. “Hospitals were burdened with reaching out to suppliers individually to discover what benefits they offered. By incorporating compassionate care coverage into the RFP process, MMC was able reduce the workload for hospital staff and make sure patients were able to start treatment sooner.”

The outcome

Through its Clinical Implementation Package, MMC proactively collects and verifies crucial information about the specific requirements for preparation and safe handling of drugs directly from suppliers. That eliminates the need for each hospital to gather this data from every supplier individually. 

“MMC’s implementation packages significantly reduce the time required for us to add new oncology drugs to our formulary. We get all the information we need to properly handle, prepare and store high-risk medications, which reduces product wastage and keeps our patients and clinicians safer,” said Sabiha Delawala, Lead Oncology Pharmacist at William Osler Health System – Brampton Civic Hospital. 

Immediate access to compassionate care coverage information is also benefiting patients and reducing the related workload on pharmacy staff. 

“Understanding what compassionate care coverage is available from the beginning is a significant advantage,” said Sabiha. “It means our team doesn’t have to research options individually, and, more importantly, it helps patients access treatment more quickly.” 

Procurement Benefits

Sources:
1 Canadian Cancer Society.
2 Government of Canada.