Engaging Pediatric Patients And Caregivers In An Oral Chemotherapy Safety Assessment.

e18156 Background: While established processes ensure safe utilization of parenteral chemotherapy, oral chemotherapy is usually prescribed by a single clinician on blind-faith that it is dispensed and administered as intended. There has been little assessment of pediatric oncology patient and parent-reported oral chemotherapy errors and needs. Our aim was to pilot an oral chemotherapy safety assessment before administering it to a larger population. Methods: Patients and caregivers completed a questionnaire on oral chemotherapy prescribing instructions, how oral chemotherapy medications are actually administered, and any self-perceived errors or near misses during prescribing, dispensing, or administration. Surveys were piloted in Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center over one month. Surveys were repeated to assess for internal consistency and semi-structured interviews were performed to assess validity. Results: Six of seven parents and one of two patients completed the two rounds of surveys and interviews. Survey completion took a median of 7 minutes (IQR 4, 9.5). Over the two surveys, there was 100% consistency on perceived prescribing errors, the primary outcome of interest. 93% felt the questions were easy to understand. There were no reported differences between the medication label and its administration. One parent reported an error in how the child took prednisolone and identified that it was because she had not received education on how to fill the medication dispenser. Parents desired additional information on how to improve medication taste and accurately administer liquid medications, as well as resources (e.g. calendars) to assist with medication adherence. Conclusions: The administration of a survey to obtain patient and parent-reported information on oral chemotherapy errors and needs was feasible. Surveys have been modified to incorporate suggestions and a larger survey analysis with concurrent adherence data will be reported. Such surveys may assist in identifying errors or near misses that may be underreported to the care team. The inclusion of the patient and caregiver in reporting of oral chemotherapy errors and needs has the potential to improve safety for patients.