Norman Ng Shares Dr. Ashley Cheng’s Vision for Safer Chemotherapy and Collaborative Cancer Care

Norman Ng, Director, Patient Advocacy and Public Affairs at Healthcare Thinkers, shared on LinkedIn:

“Other allied healthcare professionals such as pharmacists, nurses, physiotherapists and even social workers play an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of patients.

Drug-related accidents occur from time to time, and the wrong use of cancer drugs can have serious consequences, with some patients dying due to faulty drug injections. After the accident, the HA set up an investigation committee to follow up and formulate a series of measures to improve the safety of chemotherapy to prevent recurrence.

Strengthen the role of pharmacists to improve medication safety

Dr. Cheng Chi-kin, Head of Department (Oncology) of Princess Margaret Hospital, who has been the Chairman of the Central Committee on Cancer Services of the Hospital Authority for many years, said that after reviewing the chemotherapy process in various hospitals, the committee made a number of recommendations, one of which was to strengthen the role of pharmacists by specifying that all chemotherapy drugs should be prepared and handled by clinical pharmacists, and to set up an oncology drug prescription system to unify drug information and avoid errors caused by the continuous conversion of drug information due to the division of labor of ‘doctors’ prescriptions, pharmacy prescriptions, and ward drop-offs’.

He said that pharmacists play an important role in improving medication safety, for example, after the doctor prescribes the medicine, the pharmacist will check whether the prescription is correct and whether there is any conflict with other drugs that the patient is taking, and can also follow up the patient’s response to the use of drugs in the ward.

Clinical pharmacists take over from doctors to assist in the follow-up of patients who are in stable condition

In fact, there are many aspects involved in drug treatment, including the choice of medication, drug efficacy, side effects, method of use, cost and related funding schemes. Dr. Cheng pointed out that pharmacists with professional knowledge of drugs can share the burden of medicine by explaining the pharmacology, possible side effects of the drugs, the dos and don’ts of using them, and assessing whether there is a conflict with the drugs they are taking, as well as whether there is a suitable subsidy scheme to alleviate the financial burden of the patients, etc.

He said that the proposal was initially piloted in two clusters and gradually extended to other hospitals after success, and pharmacists need to have sufficient qualifications and training to become clinical pharmacists.

After years of development, pharmacists can now take over the doctor’s follow-up with cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy and have stable condition with relatively few side effects, such as breast cancer patients who are using targeted drugs, they can do not need to see the doctor every time, and the pharmacist will follow the work guidelines to make a detailed assessment of the patient when they do not need to see the doctor, and contact the doctor immediately when necessary.

Strengthen primary care to support cancer survivors

As oncology drugs become more available and effective, the number of cancer survivors is also increasing, and they also need support to maintain their health and quality of life.

Dr. Cheng said that given the limited resources, cancer services in public hospitals are inevitably focused on treatment, and the follow-up of recovered patients is easily neglected and compressed, which is not ideal, and the Hong Kong Cancer Strategy 2019 also calls for the need to strengthen and improve the support for cancer survivors, including the care of cancer patients in the primary care model.

He said that private doctors, family medicine practitioners, community health centres and the use of technology for telemedicine can all be a force in caring for cancer survivors, but one of the major obstacles is that primary healthcare stakeholders are worried that recurrence cases will be missed, so some efforts need to be done before implementation, such as providing adequate training for stakeholders, selecting suitable patients, formulating work guidelines, and creating a rapid referral mechanism for returning to public hospitals, etc., to alleviate the concerns of stakeholders.

Public-private partnership to improve cancer services in all aspects

Fortunately, with the efforts of all parties, the relevant services are being implemented gradually. For example, Dr. Cheng said that the HA has been implementing a public-private partnership (PPP) programme for many years to refer recovered thyroid cancer patients to private healthcare facilities for follow-up, and there is also a pilot scheme to understand the feasibility of family doctors following up prostate cancer patients.

Community Health Centres (DHCs) have also been persuaded to join the pilot scheme to provide medical and other support to cancer patients without the need for them to search for the services they need.

Many people may think that there is only competition between professions, but when planning cancer services, Dr Cheng does not only focus on the doctors, but also considers the overall service development, because medical care involves not only doctors but also other allied health caregivers, and strengthening the role of various stakeholders can bring about a win-win situation, which can not only reduce the pressure on doctors, but also help promote the professional development of various specialties, and more importantly, improve the quality of medical services received by patients.

Discover how Dr. Ashley Cheng is transforming cancer care in Hong Kong! In this insightful video, we explore the essential role of clinical pharmacists in enhancing chemotherapy safety. Join us as we delve into Dr. Cheng’s pioneering initiatives that have empowered these healthcare heroes to review prescriptions, educate patients, and significantly reduce medication errors.

With heartwarming visuals of community support and teamwork, you’ll witness a new era in oncology where collaboration leads to improved cancer survival rates. Don’t miss this inspiring story of innovation in medicine!

If you find this video insightful, please like and share it with others who care about healthcare advancements.”

In this post, Norman Ng underscored the significance of Dr. Ashley Cheng’s work to elevate chemotherapy safety in Hong Kong. Initiatives include empowering clinical pharmacists to take an active role in drug preparation, prescription verification, and patient monitoring – especially in stable cases like breast cancer under targeted therapy. The post also emphasized the need to integrate primary care for cancer survivors and highlighted growing collaboration across public-private partnerships to enhance long-term oncology support.

More posts featuring Norman Ng on OncoDaily.