Transitions of Care in Multiple Myeloma: Why Handoffs Remain the Biggest Operational Challenge

Welcome back to another Pharmacy Times Practice Pearls series. In this episode titled, 'Transitions of Care in Multiple Myeloma: Why Handoffs Remain the Biggest Operational Challenge,' Zahra Mahmoudjafari led the conversation about the following question:

1. Transitions of care has emerged as the single most consistent operational challenge, outranking efficacy and safety concerns. Why is this difficult, and where are the pain points?

The panelists examined why transitions of care has emerged as the most persistent operational challenge in bispecific antibody implementation for multiple myeloma with the discussion identifying the fundamental difficulty of navigating communication across distinct healthcare systems as the root cause, particularly when it comes to identifying the right contact person at the receiving institution to ensure continuity of care. The panelists also highlighted a real-world challenge faced by community practices that serve geographically mobile patient populations, noting that coordinating care for patients transitioning between out-of-state providers represents one of the most complex and time-consuming handoff scenarios in practice. The discussion underscored that while academic-to-community transitions with established partners tend to be relatively smooth, the absence of pre-existing relationships and clear institutional contacts remains the primary pain point that most consistently disrupts seamless care transitions for patients receiving bispecific antibody therapy.

Throughout the conversation, the experts provide a comprehensive reflection on the field and the factors that may shape how clinicians approach care moving forward.

In the next episode, 'Planning Before the First Dose: Pre-Treatment Transition Strategies for Bispecific Antibody Therapy in Myeloma,' panelists will continue their discussion on multiple myeloma and highlight what effective pre-treatment transition planning looks like in practice.