Pharmacy
Quality care at your convenience
The Chris O’Brien Lifehouse Pharmacy delivers patient-centred pharmacy services to all our patients and community members. We ensure the safe and effective use of all medications at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse while also contributing to research and education programs within the hospital.
About Us
Our on-site pharmacy is where we prepare and deliver pharmacy services and treatments for all our patients and community members. These range from mainstream cancer treatments to rare drugs or clinical trial drugs. As cancer specialists, COBL pharmacists regularly handle drugs that other pharmacists would rarely encounter. The team is led by the Director of Pharmacy Michael Soriano.
Please note the following changes:
- The ground floor outpatient pharmacy is open to the community, not just Chris O’Brien Lifehouse patients and will be available from 10th July 2024.
- The Hospital Pharmacy on Level 1 is designated for inpatients, clinical trial patients, and supportive medication for day therapy patients.
- All other prescriptions must be presented to the ground floor pharmacy.
Operating Hours:
Monday – Friday: 8:30am – 5:00pm
Saturday: 8:00am – 12:00pm
- Please be advised that the ground floor pharmacy will be closed to the public on Saturdays. However, you may collect your prescribed items from the level 1 pharmacy if prior arrangements are made.
Outpatient dispensary services
From Wednesday, 10th July 2024, the outpatient pharmacy will be located in a beautiful new space on the ground floor of Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, next to the café. Prescriptions, including physical scripts, e-scripts, and medicinal cannabis, should be presented to the ground floor pharmacy instead of level 1.
The ground floor pharmacy will offer a wider range of pharmacy products and will be able to dispense for any family members, not just COBL patients.
We dispense PBS subsidised medications to all patients and community members. Our pharmacists only have direct access to COBL patient clinical notes and laboratory results which helps our team review the appropriateness of your medications for you and your condition. As a patient at COBL, we can liaise directly with your doctor on your behalf for any medication monitoring requirements, drug interactions or adverse events.
We want to help reduce waiting time for you, especially since our pharmacists often need time to verify doses and laboratory results, and ensure you receive the correct medication. To help us, here are a few things you can do:
- Drop off your prescription before attending your other appointments in the building.
- Leave your prescription with us and call us at least 2 business days when you would like to collect medication.
- Scan a copy of your prescription to pharmacy@lh.org.au with your name, contact number, medication required and collection date and time. Please allow at least 1 business day for us to process your order. The original script must be presented before medication can be collected.
- Medical Cannabis is ordered for patients on an individual basis. Please call ahead as it can take 1 to 3 business days for products to arrive. The original script must be presented if an electronic copy was emailed.
Inpatient pharmacy services
We have clinical pharmacists dedicated to each ward to help ensure you receive all the appropriate medications during your inpatient stay and discharge. If you are going to be admitted at Lifehouse, please bring all your current medications. Our clinical pharmacists will ensure that your medications that need to continue during your admission are charted and able to be used during your hospital stay. We will also ensure that you are aware of any new medication(s) may start you on in hospital.
Day Therapy Pharmacy
Our Day therapy unit is serviced by a team of day therapy pharmacists. They work closely with the doctors and nursing staff to review and check all chemotherapy and immunotherapy prescribed in the unit.
We also have a dedicated counselling pharmacist who supplies and counsels all day therapy patients on their new oral medications.
You can request supportive medication for day therapy treatment from the Hospital Pharmacy on level 1. All other prescriptions must be presented at the ground floor pharmacy.
Compounding suite
We have a cytotoxic and sterile manufacturing suite inside the Lifehouse Pharmacy that services day therapy. This is where we make over a hundred chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments for our patients every day. Having our own pharmacy has many benefits, including:
- Flexibility – to change doses and treatments when needed
- Responsiveness – to fit in emergency bookings
- Efficiency – our average turnaround time is 15 minutes for planned treatments
- Safety – each product goes through multiple quality control checks on-site
Clinical trials
Chris O’Brien Lifehouse is the biggest cancer clinical trials centre in NSW. The pharmacy department supports the hospital in the handling, storage, preparation and dispensing of clinical trial medications. We have a 24/7 temperature monitoring system that ensures clinical trial medications are stored within protocol-specified temperature windows. Our standard operating procedures ensures process accountability on medications from transport/delivery through to administration to the patient.
You can request and collect clinical trial medication from the Hospital Pharmacy on level 1. All other prescriptions must be presented to the ground floor pharmacy.
Biosimilar medicinal products
We support the use of biosimilar medications. Biosimilar medications play an important part in fostering a healthy competitive pharmaceutical market, resulting in lower costs for subsidising medicines through the PBS. As biologic medicines now exceed the total cost of traditional medications in the PBS, biosimilars present an opportunity to ensure the sustainability of the PBS and support the ongoing listing of newer and more expensive treatments. Learn more here.
Education
Chris O’Brien Lifehouse Academy
The Chris O’Brien Lifehouse Academy is a practical introduction to oncology pharmacy for clinical pharmacists and technicians.
Dates:
- 2-Day program for pharmacists and technicians: 26th – 27th May 2025
- 4-Day program for pharmacists: 26th – 27th May and 2nd-3rd June 2025
Click the link below to learn more about the 2-day and 4-day programs.
To express interest or if you have any questions, please contact Whiter Tang, Deputy Director of Pharmacy, whiter.tang@lh.org.au or follow this link.
University Partnerships
The Chris O’Brien Lifehouse Pharmacy has partnered with University of Sydney and UTS to provide training to pharmacy students through:
- Internships
- Clinical placements (2 or 4 week blocks)
- Honours research projects
- Capstone projects
Frequently asked questions
From the 10th July 2024, the outpatient pharmacy will be located on the ground floor of Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, next to the café. This service is available to the community, not just Chris O’Brien Lifehouse patients.
We have a diverse team of pharmacy staff who can assist you in Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Italian, Spanish, Tagalog or Arabic, on most days of the week. Please come speak to one of the friendly receptionists at the counter and we can try to help you as much as possible.
There are many steps involved in reviewing and verifying your medication prescription. Many chemotherapy treatments are individually prescribed using your specific bloods results, weight and health and general health. These are all variable and can change through the course of treatment.
Delays in the chemotherapy suite can happen due to:
Dose Changes — When we change your medication dosages, we also need to arrange new prescriptions and update legal documents.
Treatment Types — Some treatments have special instructions that take extra time to prepare.
Same-Day Treatments — Some treatments have multiple steps that each need to be checked and approved by multiple different departments.
Emergency Bookings — Both the Pharmacy and Day Therapy teams must accommodate emergency bookings, the number of which we can’t anticipate.
Quality Checks — These are a non-negotiable step in ensuring high standards and patient safety.
Day therapy patients can assist in reducing wait time by having their blood taken earlier. The day before your treatment is ideal.
Contact Us
If you would like more information about the Pharmacy and its operations please don’t hesitate to speak with us. The pharmacy counter is opposite the day therapy reception.
Pharmacy
Ground floor
Chris O’Brien Lifehouse
119-143 Missenden Road,
Camperdown NSW 2050
Cnr Missenden & Salisbury Rd
For Pharmacy Enquiries
Email: pharmacy@lh.org.au
For General Enquiries
Phone: (02) 8514 0015
Email: infocentre@lh.org.au
Visitor Information
Find out more about public transport options, parking and our free shuttle bus.
Chris O’Brien Lifehouse is located on Missenden Road, Camperdown. Please refer to the above.