Utilizing patient navigators to enhance oral chemotherapy education and safety for at-risk patients.

43Background: Oral anticancer drugs are increasingly being used as standard therapy. At Tufts Medical Center Cancer Center, 10% of patients on active cancer treatment are receiving oral chemotherapy. To address barriers to medication education and timely management of treatment effects, we began an initiative involving our pharmacy specialist who reviews newly-started oral chemotherapy treatments for safety concerns, dose appropriateness, and drug interactions. In response to the cultural-linguistic needs of our Chinese patients (20% of our patients, largest minority group) and unique challenges of our patients of lower SES (40% of our patients), we are also leveraging patient navigators (PN) to improve timely care and understanding of and adherence to oral cancer medications for our most vulnerable patients. Methods: PN regularly interact with patients and work closely with the care team to address patients’ concerns. Formal PN visits with patients in clinic are documented in the EMR. To assess the scope...