Introducing the Centralized Mixing Program:
11-6-2021
As you may be aware, the Hospital Oncology Program has been forced to address new standards for facilities that compound (mix) their own chemotherapy drugs.
These new standards require significant upgrades that are unrealistic at small facilities, including RLMCMH. A thorough assessment of our own Hospital determined that required renovations and upgrades to our Hospital Pharmacy would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. This was simply not realistic. A change would have to be made. But how could we make a change without eliminating the service and / or impacting patients?
Our Pharmacy and Administrative staff, with the support of the Board, have been committed to finding alternative solutions. The last thing we wanted was for community members with a cancer diagnosis to have to commute, for hours, to other hospitals for their treatments. Other small facilities in our region faced the same challenges. We have been fortunate to work with them, as partners, to find a regional solution.
Today, we are very happy to announce that for over six months we, and other small regional hospitals, have established a partnership with Dryden Regional Health Centre (DRHC) to develop the Centralized Mixing Program. Through this program, DRHC mixes our chemotherapy treatments. They are then transported directly to RLMCMH. Once received, the Oncology Nurse administers the chemotherapy on the same day and the patient can then return to their home. A lot of very careful planning has gone into this new program and it has taken time to come to fruition. There are many factors and logistics to consider, such as transportation options, hazardous drug considerations, cost, staffing (on both ends), and the shelf life of the drugs – did you know that our chemotherapy treatments must be administered within 12 hours of mixing?
We are so grateful to DRHC and our other regional partners for their continued efforts to make this program a success. We are also grateful to our own staff who have worked hard to make this project a reality. They have shown serious dedication to our patients and to the delivery of healthcare, within our community. Luckily, our Hospital Pharmacy was permitted to continue mixing chemotherapy, on site, until the Centralized Mixing Program was successfully implemented. Therefore, we did not have to cancel services or end our program, even temporarily.
We are pleased to continue to operate our Oncology Program locally, so that patients can access this specialized care, close to their own homes. Thank-you everyone that contributed to this project! Your hard work has paid off.