Patients - Support Services
IDS Pharmacy
Who staffs the Investigational Drug Section (IDS)?
The IDS staff includes: clinical oncology pharmacists, investigational drug pharmacists, certified pharmacy technicians, and an administrative assistant.
What does the IDS staff do to prepare my chemotherapy medication?
The IDS is responsible for a variety of tasks required to prepare and dispense your chemotherapy medication. These various tasks take between 20 and 60 + minutes to perform depending on your treatment.
IDS pharmacists verify all chemotherapy orders prior to preparation. The verification process is similar, regardless of whether you are receiving conventional or investigational chemotherapy. Pharmacists verify that your chemotherapy dose level and calculated dose are correct based on your height and weight. In addition, the pharmacists check your laboratory test results to ensure you meet all requirements for treatment.
Once all requirements are verified your specific intravenous (IV) or oral medication (PO) dose is then prepared in a special chemotherapy mixing area (Class II biological safety cabinet) using sterile techniques. Each step in this process is double-checked and documented to assure the accuracy of the chemotherapy dispensed for you.
Each vial, tablet, capsule or measure of liquid investigational chemotherapy medication is entered into the IDS drug inventory and must be accounted for to the pharmaceutical company sponsoring the study and to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The IDS staff spends many hours each week documenting the inventory and dosages dispensed to patients on the Drug Accountability Records and communicating with the research nurses, physicians and pharmaceutical company representatives.
Why does the IDS pharmacist ask me to bring my medications (prescriptions, over-the-counter medications) vitamins, alternative therapy and herbal products to my appointments?
The pharmacists would like to review all of your medications (prescriptions, over-the-counter, vitamins, alternative therapy and herbal products) for drug-chemotherapy interactions, drug-drug interactions, duplicate therapy and potential side effects. Many of the investigational studies have suspected or proven drug interactions. It is important to know if you are receiving any medications that may interfere with the activity of your chemotherapy or may increase your risk of serious side effects.
Who do I call if I have a problem with my chemotherapy continuous infusion pump?
You can page the Investigational Drug Section, On-Call Pharmacist for emergency patient or pump related issues after-hours by calling (210) 746-2792. You will be prompted to enter a numeric message into the phone – this numeric message should include your complete telephone number including area code. You should expect a call back from the on-call pharmacist within 15 minutes. If you do not receive a call, please repeat the above process.
For non-urgent issues, please call during regular IDS business hours from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., Monday through Friday
