What Are The Advantages Of Infusion Pharmacy?

Our pharmacy team can be more involved in patient care during treatments

How does an “infusion pharmacy” help with cancer treatment?

“Our infusion pharmacy is designed to safely and efficiently compound specialty medications to support the care of cancer patients during their individualized treatments,” says Melissa Rambin, R.Ph., director of cancer services at Kelsey-Seybold’s Main Campus Cancer Center. “Our goal is to provide supportive patient care through medications, usually administered intravenously, as well as patient education.”

Advantages for patients

“The advantage of having an onsite infusion pharmacy to support Cancer Services is that our pharmacy team is involved in overall patient care through close collaboration with oncologists and patients,” Melissa explains. “The proximity of our clinical pharmacists facilitates one-on-one patient counseling and helps ensure the appropriate, supportive medications are delivered to patients in a timely manner.”

She emphasizes that the onsite infusion pharmacy adheres to the proper handling, storage and administrative requirements provided by best-practices standards.

Helping alleviate side effects

“Radiation, chemotherapy or a combination of the two, is critical for cancer treatment. However, the side effects can be uncomfortable and disruptive for a patient’s lifestyle,” Melissa says.

She says her team can provide medications to help relieve a range of common symptoms, including:

• Dehydration
• Pain
• Nausea and vomiting
• Abnormal white blood cell count
• Mouth sores and/or dry mouth

“At Kelsey-Seybold’s Main Campus Cancer Center we have an infusion pharmacy that provides chemotherapy; state-of-the-art radiation technology; and the Oncology expertise to help improve patients’ clinical outcomes,” she concludes.