FAQs
What
is infusion therapy?
Why
are Infusions Performed at Home?
Who
Provides Infusion Therapy?
What
are the primary I.V. therapies administered at home?
Does
Medicare cover home infusion?
Is
Pharmacare accredited?
What
is infusion therapy?
Home
infusion therapy involves the administration of medications using
intravenous, subcutaneous, and epidural routes (into the bloodstream,
under the skin, and into the membranes surrounding the spinal
cord).
Drug therapies
commonly administered via infusion include antibiotics, chemotherapy,
pain management, parenteral nutrition, and immune globulin. Diagnoses
commonly requiring infusion therapy include infections that are
unresponsive to oral antibiotics; cancer and cancer-related pain;
gastrointestinal diseases or disorders which prevent normal functioning
of the GI system; congestive heart failure; immune disorders;
growth hormone deficiencies; and more.
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Why
are Infusions Performed at Home?
Until
the 1980s, patients needing infusion therapy had no option but
to remain in an inpatient setting until the completion of their
therapy. With the heightened emphasis on cost-effectiveness and
cost-containment in health care, clinicians began to search for
strategies to eliminate or reduce these costly inpatient stays.
For individuals requiring long-term therapy (such as those requiring
lifelong intravenous nutrition support) inpatient care is not
only tremendously expensive, but also prevents the individual
from resuming normal lifestyle and work activities.
Home infusion has been proven to be a safe and effective alternative
to inpatient care for many disease states and therapies. For most
patients, receiving treatment at home or in an outpatient clinic
setting is preferable to inpatient care. A thorough patient assessment
and home assessment are performed before initiating infusion therapy
at home to ensure that the patient is an appropriate candidate
for home care.
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Who
Provides Infusion Therapy?
Infusion
therapy always originates with a prescription from a qualified
physician who is overseeing the care of the patient. A provider
of infusion must be a licensed pharmacy or work in conjunction
with a licensed pharmacy. Home nursing services are also provided
to ensure proper patient education and training and to monitor
the care of the patient in the home.
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What
are the primary I.V. therapies administered at home?
By far,
the major home I.V. therapies are I.V. antibiotics, prescribed
primarily for such diagnoses as cellulitis, sepsis, and osteomyelitis;
other diagnoses include urinary tract infections, pneumonia, sexually
transmitted diseases, and sinusitis.
Other major home I.V. therapies include total parenteral nutrition,
chemotherapy, pain management, enteral nutrition, IV immune globulin,
dobutamine, growth hormone, and other therapies.
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Does
Medicare cover home infusion?
The short
answer is no. But the real answer is that certain therapies are
covered when administered using durable medical equipment (a mechanical
or electronic infusion pump). Only a select few therapies are
covered and only under very specific conditions. These include
antiviral therapies, some chemotherapies, some inotropic therapies
(i.e., dobutamine), and some pain management therapies. More specific
information can be obtained by contacting the Medicare durable
medical equipment regional carriers (DMERCs) or by visiting their
websites at: Region D - CIGNA HealthCare, www.cignamedicare.com
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Is
Pharmacare accredited?
Yes, the
Accreditation Commission for Home Care (ACHC) granted a three-year
accredited status to Pharmacare in 2002. Prior to that, Pharmacare
had been accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of
Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) for six years.
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