Infusion Services

Our specialized infusion pharmacists work with you, your physician, your home health nurse and your family to provide you IV therapy in the comfort of your own home. The home health nurse will provide visits to assist and train you on your infusion therapy. A pharmacist is available day or night 365 days a year.

An infusion therapy provider is most normally a "closed-door", state-licensed pharmacy that specializes in provision of infusion therapies to patients in their homes. The infusion therapy always originates with a prescription order from a qualified physician who is overseeing the care of the patient. Qualified infusion pharmacies must satisfy licensing and other regulatory requirements imposed by state pharmacy boards as well as accreditation standards.

Evers Infusion Pharmacy works with home health agencies throughout New York. We offer services to patients, hospitals, home health agencies and other ancillary healthcare facilities.

Services

  • Total parenteral nutrition (TPN)

  • Steroids

  • Anticoagulation therapy

  • Antiemetics

  • Hydration therapy

  • Pain management

  • Inotropic therapy

  • IV line catheter care supplies

  • Stationary and ambulatory infusion pumps

  • IV poles and supplies

  • Pharmacist Consultation

What diseases are treated with infusion therapy?

Diseases commonly requiring infusion therapy include:

  • Infections that are unresponsive to oral antibiotics

  • Cancer and cancer-related pain

  • Dehydration

  • Gastrointestinal diseases

  • Disorders which prevent normal functioning of the gastrointestinal system

Other conditions treated with specialty infusion therapies may include:

  • Cancers

  • Congestive heart failure

  • Crohn's Disease

  • Hemophilia

  • Immune deficiencies

  • Multiple sclerosis

  • Rheumatoid arthritis

The majority of infusion therapy treatments are IV antibiotics, prescribed primarily for such diagnoses as cellulitis, sepsis, osteomyelitis, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and sinusitis.

What equipment and supplies will I receive from Home Medical Services?

Depending on the type of medication your physician has prescribed will determine the type of equipment and supplies you will need. Items typically given to each patient may include the following: infusion pump, IV tubing, medication, saline flushes, and catheter care supplies. We offer ambulatory pumps, which allow the patient to be up and about during therapy. Syringe pumps are easy to use and do not include all the hassles that electronic pumps do. We also offer stationary pumps, which can be set on a tabletop or mounted to an IV pole.

Does insurance cover home infusion therapy services?

The range of variables that must be managed by the infusion pharmacy to ensure safe and appropriate administration has led nearly all commercial health plans to treat home infusion therapy as a medical service, reimbursed under their medical benefit (rather than the prescription drug benefit) and paid for using a per diem for clinical services, supplies, and equipment with separate payments for the drugs and nursing visits. It also has led most commercial plans to require that infusion pharmacies be accredited by nationally recognized accreditation organizations. Commercial plans have used this model aggressively to reduce overall healthcare costs while achieving high levels of patient satisfaction.

Government health plans such as Medicaid, TRICARE, and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program also reimburse for home infusion therapy, although for Medicaid in a few states the extent of coverage can have gaps. A major exception in the completeness of coverage is, unfortunately, the Medicare program.

Does Medicare cover home infusion therapy services?​

Medicare's fee-for-service program (Parts A, B, and D) is the only major health plan in the country that has not recognized the benefits of adequately covering the provision of infusion therapies in a patient's home. Because most Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in the fee-for-service program when seniors and the disabled find they may need infusion therapy they often find it unaffordable to receive this care the comfort of their home.

Providing home infusion therapy involves not only the delivery of medication but also requires professional services, specialized equipment, and supplies to ensure safe and effective administration of the therapy. While most infusion drugs may be covered by the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has determined that it does not have the authority to cover the infusion-related services, equipment, and supplies under Part D.

For parenteral and enteral nutrition therapies, there can be covered in Part B only if the need for the therapy is documented to be for at least 90 days and other coverage criteria are met. For home nursing visits needed for beneficiaries receiving infusion therapy, there can be Medicare Part A coverage under Medicare's home health benefit only if the patients are serviced by a Medicare-certified home health agency, as well as considered to be homebound and in need of intermittent (not 24 hours) home nursing.