Prescribing in cancer care

Last month, the research round-up provided you with an overview of articles focusing on prescribing in countries outside of the UK to try and gain a more global perspective on nurse prescribing practices. This month, we will examine a range of articles looking at prescribing in various aspects of cancer care. The first is a systematic review of the impact of nurse and pharmacist clinics with patients on anti-cancer medication, their care and experience. The second is a quantitative piece looking at nurse prescribing of opioids in cancer pain. Finally, we conclude with a review of pancreatic enzyme prescribing in the form of a national audit.

This article, published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, sought to review the evidence surrounding nurse and pharmacist review of patients undergoing systemic anti-cancer therapy (SACT).

This systematic review of the literature was carried out using a robust protocol and incorporating the population, exposure and outcome (PEO) framework to manage the search strategy. The review took place in April 2022 and searched seven appropriate and respected databases. No timescales were set to capture the progress of this intervention from early evidence to current day. The outcomes measured were patient experience and care from a pharmacist or nurse-led interventional review. Robust inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, and the quantitative data extracted converted to textual description, with the qualitative data subjected to appropriate thematic analysis. In total, 15 studies met the criteria for inclusion and after quality appraisal and thematic analysis, three main themes emerged with some clear sub-themes.