What is home infusion therapy? A guide for patients and their families.

Recently, Margaret experienced her first infusion at home. She was able to do so in an environment she’s comfortable with. 

Through care coordination with a Care Guide, Margaret was connected with a pet-friendly nurse who arrived at her house on time. The treatment was about an hour and a half faster than she was used to, leaving her sitting in her own living room instead of a waiting room. 

"I didn't have to travel. I was able to sit in the comfort of my own home, and it was just amazing," she said. 

Margaret is not alone. Patients on long-course specialty therapy are increasingly asking the same questions that brought her to home infusion in the first place: What is it, and is it actually safe? For many, the answer is yes, and there are real benefits to undergoing infusions at home.

What is home infusion?

Home infusion occurs when a licensed, trained nurse brings your prescribed IV or subcutaneous medication to you and administers it in your own home instead of a hospital or clinic. It is not a new medication or a new treatment plan. It is the same drug, the same dose, and the same schedule your doctor already prescribed, delivered in a setting that fits your life instead of the other way around.

Multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, a range of inflammatory and autoimmune conditions, blood disorders and iron infusions, and certain oncology treatments are among the most common conditions for which medications could be administered through an at-home infusion, but there are others.

What happens during a home infusion visit?

Before any nurse arrives at your door, a Leap Care Guide: 

• Coordinates with the doctor or prescriber to confirm that your treatment is appropriate for the home setting.
• Matches you with a nurse trained in your specific therapy.
• Works with your insurance company to secure prior authorization. 

Your Care Guide also coordinates with your existing physician, whether that's your rheumatologist, gastroenterologist, or oncologist, to route your prescription to a specialty pharmacy and schedule your nurse visit around your availability, including evenings, weekends, and even holidays for many patients.

On visit day, your nurse brings the medication, monitors your vitals throughout the infusion, and documents the visit. Afterward, that documentation goes straight back to your physician, so your care team stays in the loop at every step.

Is home infusion safe?

Yes. Home infusion patients are no more likely to experience adverse drug effects or side effects than patients who receive these therapies in other settings, according to a PubMed study. In fact, in that same study, it was found that clinical outcomes were as good or better for some patients, and that patients overwhelmingly preferred home infusion. 

Home infusion of biologics and immunoglobulin therapies has been done safely for decades. With Leap, every nurse assigned to a patient is a licensed RN with an infusion or ICU background, trained specifically to manage IV therapy and recognize a reaction early.

Not every patient starts at home on day one. When a therapy is new to you, or your treatment has changed, your first dose (and sometimes your first few) may happen in a clinic setting, so your care team can see how you respond before moving your visits home. Once you're stable on therapy, your Care Guide coordinates the transition.

For every home visit, your nurse stays with you for the full infusion, and standing emergency medications are on hand in case a reaction occurs. Licensed nurses oversee the safety of your treatment from the moment they arrive to the moment they leave.

What are the real benefits?

With Leap, we’ve found that patients who switch to home infusion save about 3 hours per treatment on average, and the median time from a first call with a Care Guide to a first home infusion is under 2 weeks. For Margaret, that meant a shorter infusion, in her own home, with no drive at all.

The rest of the perks include: 

• A dedicated Care Guide who can help manage treatment. 
• No PTO burned on a single appointment driving to and from an appointment.
• No waiting room.
• No rearranging childcare or a caregiver's schedule around a facility's 8-to-5 window.

How does Leap coordinate home infusion care?

One dedicated Care Guide owns your case from the first phone call through ongoing treatment, including: 

• Benefits verification
• Prior authorization
• Prescriber coordination
• Pharmacy logistics
• Scheduling

They work with your physician directly, not around them, so switching to home infusion never means switching doctors. Your prescriber stays in charge of your treatment plan. Your Care Guide takes care of the logistics standing between you and getting it.

Patients report feeling that difference. Leap holds a 92 net promoter score and a 98% patient satisfaction rate, numbers that track directly to having one person, instead of a hospital's worth of departments, coordinating the whole thing.

Do you think at-home infusion therapy is right for you? Check to see if you’re eligible for Leap.