Current practice patterns for oral chemotherapy: results of a national survey.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To describe current nursing practices in the United States regarding care and safety of patients taking oral chemotherapy. DESIGN This three-phase study consisted of development, validation, and implementation of a national online survey. SETTING Survey of oncology nurses in outpatient settings. SAMPLE 577 oncology nurses. METHODS Surveys were emailed to 5,000 members of the Oncology Nursing Society. The survey included 17 forced-choice items and one free-text item. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were obtained. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES Patient care practices, nursing resources, and barriers to medication adherence. FINDINGS Fifty-one percent of the respondents worked in practices that had developed specific policies, procedures, and resources for patients on oral chemotherapy. Barriers to treatment adherence included cost (81%) and adverse effects (72%). Practices with specific policies differed in clinical and statistical significance from practices without policies on almost every survey item. Free-text responses revealed that many practices have erratic procedures and inadequate interdisciplinary communication. CONCLUSIONS Systematic reliable policies and procedures for patient education, documentation, and interdisciplinary communication are urgently needed. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING Nurses should provide education and repeated teaching to improve patient safety, adherence to the medication, and self-monitoring for adverse effects.