Improving Counseling for the Cancer Patients on Immunotherapy You Don't Know You're Seeing

Improving Counseling for Cancer Patients on Immunotherapy You Don't Know You're Seeing is organized by PharmCon, Inc.

Release Date: Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Offline Date: Sunday, February 28, 2021
ACPE Expiration Date: Friday, May 26, 2023

Overview:
This presentation will serve as a basic overview of immunotherapy, intended for community pharmacists, in order to increase knowledge and skills between non-oncology pharmacists and patients receiving immunotherapy. The session will include a review of immunotherapy indications for use, mechanism of action, and commonly experienced immune-related adverse events. While recognizing that community pharmacists will not be dispensing immunotherapy to patients, it is still critical for community pharmacists to be aware of the needs of patients receiving immunotherapy in order to create a pharmacy environment that encourages patients to share information about their cancer management, especially when they are receiving medications from outside of the community pharmacy. Information on the management of immune-related adverse events will incorporate evidence-based guidelines so that community pharmacists are well-positioned to make recommendations/referrals for the commonly encountered immune-related adverse events. Key concepts that community pharmacists would need to know will be reinforced and applied through application-based cases in order to highlight counseling points that should be communicated to patients.

Learning Objectives:
Pharmacist, Nurse, and Pharmacy Technician:
• Utilize guidelines and resources in order to recommend an evidence-based, patient-specific plan for immunotherapy-related adverse events
• Identify the most common/concerning immune-related adverse events in order to recognize patients who are appropriate for self-management versus immediate medical attention
• Recognize the importance of collecting and evaluating patient data, related to cancer diagnosis and the use of immunotherapy, in order to meet the needs of patients and provide quality care.