Impact of Pharmacist-Led Intervention on Adult Oncology Outpatients

April 20, 2026 updated by: Eman Said Sawan, Badr University

Impact of Pharmacist-Led Medication Reconciliation, Counseling and Follow-Up on Medication Adherence, Medication Errors and Medication-related Hospitalization in Adult Oncology Outpatients

Background and Rationale: Cancer patients receiving outpatient therapy often manage complex medication regimens that include anticancer agents, supportive care medications, and treatments for chronic comorbidities. This polypharmacy greatly increases the risk of medication discrepancies, potential drug-drug interactions, and unintentional errors. Moreover, because most oncology care is delivered in outpatient settings, patients are primarily responsible for self-administering their medications, making adherence a key determinant of treatment success and patient safety (Lindenmeyer et al., 2022; Alshehri et al., 2024). Medication errors and poor adherence among oncology patients are widely recognized global concerns. Research indicates that nearly half of cancer patients experience at least one medication discrepancy during transitions of care, and nonadherence to oral anticancer therapies can exceed 40%. Such issues can result in reduced treatment efficacy, increased toxicity, avoidable hospitalizations, higher healthcare costs, and poorer quality of life (Weingart et al., 2018; Wu et al., 2020; Patel et al., 2021). Pharmacists, as essential members of the multidisciplinary oncology team, are uniquely positioned to address these medication-related challenges. Their pharmacotherapy expertise and patient-education roles enable them to detect discrepancies, optimize medication use, and enhance patient understanding of treatment regimens. Evidence from various healthcare settings shows that pharmacist-led interventions such as medication reconciliation, individualized counseling, and structured follow-up can improve medication safety and adherence (de Clercq et al., 2021; Boeni et al., 2022). Despite strong evidence supporting each of these interventions individually, few studies have examined the combined effect of pharmacist-led reconciliation, counseling, and follow-up in outpatient oncology practice. Adult cancer patients face additional challenges, including complex dosing schedules, emotional distress, and financial burdens, all of which can impair medication adherence. An integrated pharmacist led program may create a continuous safety net that detects medication discrepancies early, reinforces correct use, and sustains adherence throughout treatment (Gellad et al., 2022; ISPOR Report, 2023). Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the impact of a comprehensive pharmacist-led program encompassing medication reconciliation, individualized counseling, and systematic follow-up on enhancing medication adherence and reducing medication errors among adult outpatient cancer patients. Demonstrating the effectiveness of this integrated care model may provide strong evidence to support the routine inclusion of pharmacists in outpatient oncology services to improve patient outcomes and medication safety (Alshehri et al., 2024; Boeni et al., 2022).

Study Hypothesis: Adult oncology outpatients are frequently prescribed complex medication regimens upon leaving the hospital. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate whether a comprehensive pharmacist-led outpatient program improves medication adherence and reduces medication errors among this population.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

100

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • • Adult medical oncology outpatient at NCI, Cairo University with different diagnoses.

    • Receiving ≥5 medication

Exclusion criteria:

  • Cognitive impairment,
  • Palliative care
  • Language barriers

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: PH-LED
Pharmacist led intervention
Behavioral: Pharmacist intervention
Medication Reconciliation, Counseling and Follow-Up
Active Comparator: ST- CARE
Standard care
Behavioral: ST- CARE
Counselling
Other Names:
  • Standard Care

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
medication adherence
Time Frame: at baseline and after ONE MONTH

• To measure medication adherence score in both groups using the Morisky (MMAS-8) scale at baseline and after one month to assess improvement in adherence after the pharmacist-led intervention compared to usual care where 8 = High adherence, 6 to <8 = Medium adherence

,<6 = Low adherence
at baseline and after ONE MONTH

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Detection of medication errors
Time Frame: Number of medication errors within ONE MONTH from baseline
• To identify and detect the number of medication errors in both groups
Number of medication errors within ONE MONTH from baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Badr University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

  • References: Alshehri, M., Althumairi, A., Alharbi, K., & Alharbi, F. (2024). The impact of pharmacist-led medication reconciliation on patient safety outcomes: A systematic review. International Journal of Medical Toxicology and Legal Medicine, 27(2), 87-95. Boeni, F., Spinatsch, M., Suter, K., Hersberger, K. E., & Arnet, I. (2022). Effectiveness of pharmacist-led counseling on medication adherence in cancer outpatients: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Oncology Pharmacy Practice, 28(5), 1123-1134. de Clercq, L., Van Camp, Y., De Winter, S., & Simoens, S. (2021). Pharmacist-led medication review and reconciliation in oncology: A scoping review. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, 43(4), 929-940. Gellad, W. F., Zhao, X., Thorpe, C. T., & Donohue, J. M. (2022). Pharmacist interventions to improve medication use and safety in oncology outpatients. BMC Health Services Research, 22(1), 1147. Hasen G, Negeso B. Patients Satisfaction with Pharmaceutical Care and Associated Factors in the Southwestern Ethiopia. Patient Prefer Adherence. 2021 Sep 21;15:2155-2163. doi: 10.2147/PPA.S332489. PMID: 34584408; PMCID: PMC8464365 ISPOR Report. (2023). Pharmacist-led interventions to improve medication adherence in cancer patients: A systematic review. Value in Health, 26(Suppl 1), S123-S131. Joy AM, UP N, Chand S, Shetty JK, George SM, Chacko CS, Joel JJ. Role of clinical pharmacist in the medication adherence behaviour of cancer patients: An interventional study. Le Pharmacien Hospitalier et Clinicien. 2021; 56:291-297. Lindenmeyer, A., Oliveira, T., Santos, R., & Mendes, E. (2022). Medication discrepancies among oncology patients: The importance of pharmacist involvement. Journal of Hospital Pharmacy Services, 9(3), 55-63. Patel, J., Wong, A., & Clark, C. (2021). Medication errors and patient outcomes in ambulatory oncology. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 78(14), 1275-1282. Weingart, S. N., Brown, E., Bach, P. B., Engelhardt, K. E., Johnson, S

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

April 20, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 20, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

July 20, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 20, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 20, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

April 24, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 24, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 20, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • HOSPITAL2601-511-149-206

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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