October 29, 2021
The American Society of Health-System Pharmacy (ASHP) has once again recognized the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy/UNC Health Care team with the ASHP Best Practices Award.
The team’s awarded program, titled “Pharmacist-Led Program Leads to Safe and Efficient Outpatient Initiation of AML Venetoclax-Based Regimen,” was led by Katie Buhlinger, Pharm.D., BCOP, CPP, Oncology Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner with the NC Cancer Hospital Adult Leukemia Clinic, and alumna of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
“I’m very excited that our program was selected for this award, and I’m honored to be able to share this work with the pharmacy community. AML is a challenging disease to treat with a quickly evolving treatment landscape, and it’s rewarding to see the incredible impact that our interdisciplinary and pharmacy teams have had on our patients and the health system,” Buhlinger said.
The team’s program sought to safely initiate an outpatient setting for Venetoclax therapy – a medication often given to patients battling leukemia – that would have otherwise required inpatient care. There were 47 patients treated with only one case of tumor lysis syndrome, and 83% of patients were able to remain outpatient for their first week of therapy.
The UNC Medication Assistance Program and UNC Specialty Pharmacy were vital partners of this program, preventing delays in initiating therapy and minimizing out-of-pocket expenses for the patients. The program resulted in an estimated avoidance of 273 inpatient days and a reduction of over $1 million in healthcare costs.
“Our program demonstrates that a closed-loop, team-based approach that address clinical, operational, and financial aspects can lead to the delivery of high-quality cancer care with reduced healthcare costs in highly complex leukemia patients. We hope that this framework can be adapted to diverse settings, and can demonstrate the value of pharmacy services in hematology/oncology settings,” said Benyam Muluneh, Pharm.D., BCOP, CPP, team member who established the foundation of the program and assistant professor at UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
The Best Practices Award was established in 1999 and recognizes pharmacists who demonstrate leadership and innovation in enhancing patient care and other areas of pharmacy practice.
Awardees from the team of UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and UNC Health Care include Katie Buhlinger, Pharm.D., BCOP, CPP; John Valgus, PharmD, MHA, BCOP; Maurice Alexander, PharmD, BCOP, CPP; Suzanne Francart, PharmD, BCPS; Stephanie Jean, PharmD, MS, BCPS; Jeffrey Reichard, PharmD, MS, BCOP; Udobi Campbell, PharmD, MBA; Benyam Muluneh, PharmD, BCOP, CPP
The team will be honored during ASHP’s Midyear conference in December.
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