 Home Infusion Patients
As a leader in the Northeastern Pennsylvania region, TheraPoint has been providing home infusion services since 1987. We are experienced in providing antibiotic, TPN, hydration, inotropic and pain management therapies as well as intravenous line maintenance supplies.
Frequently Asked Questions from home infusion patients:
- What services do you provide?
TheraPoint provides your I.V. medications as ordered by your doctor. We also provide all the necessary supplies associated with your I.V. medication such as a pump, I.V. tubings, I.V. site dressings, flushes for your I.V. line, etc., as indicated by your type of therapy.
TheraPoint’s nurses do not provide direct patient care in the home. Our nurses do coordinate care with the nurses from the home health or hospice agency that you and your doctor selected to provided your nursing care to you in your home. If you are attempting to coordinate care for yourself or a family member and you need assistance locating a home health agency then - CLICK HERE -
Our nurses will routinely follow up with you by telephone to determine if you understand your therapy, if it is effective, and if there are any changes that we should be aware of.
- What do I do if I have a problem or a question?
If you have a question or problem regarding your general condition, worsening or new symptoms, wound care, problems flushing your I.V. line, etc., you need to contact your home health nurse or your doctor. If you feel it is a serious emergency, call 911 immediately.
If you have a question about, or a problem with, your medication, I.V. pump or I.V. related supplies, please call TheraPoint at 1-800-278-2101. If you call after regular business hours there is always a nurse and a pharmacist on call. Simply give your information to our answering service and they will promptly page someone to call you back to assist you.
If you are having problems using your I.V. pump and have misplaced your user’s guide, or in the unlikely event that you did not receive a copy of the user’s guide then you may –CLICK HERE- to download a copy from our Online Resource Library.
- How will I get my I.V. medications and supplies?
Our own TheraPoint delivery specialist will hand deliver your medications and supplies to you at your home. If you are not expecting to be home on a day that you are due for a delivery simply contact us as soon as possible to make an early delivery, or if you prefer we can arrange to deliver to a neighbor, friend or family member.
- Will I have to call TheraPoint for a delivery every time I need my I.V. medication?
No, not usually. We will plan to make regular deliveries to you. Depending on your type of therapy it may be weekly, twice a week, monthly, etc.
When preparing your delivery our experienced nurses and pharmacists will anticipate how much medication and supplies you will need until your next delivery. Using an advanced computer system we will then keep track of when your next delivery is due. However, please feel free to contact us if you ever have a question about when your next delivery is due.
PLEASE NOTIFY US AS SOON AS POSSIBLE IF ANY OF THE FOLLOWING OCCURES:
· You have had to waste a dose of you medication due to leakage, contamination of the sterile port or for any other reason. This way we will know that you will need your next delivery sooner then we originaly anticipated.
· You doctor tells you that he will be changing your medication or the dosage strength of your medication. Then we will know that we need to speak to your doctor to get his most up to date orders for your care.
· Your doctor tells you that you are finished with your infusion therapy.
· You I.V. access is removed, replaced, or de-accessed (i.e. PICC lines, Port-a-caths, Hickman catheters, etc,).
· You are being admitted to the hospital.
· You will not be home on the day that we usually make your delivery.
· It appears that you will run out of any of your I.V. related supplies before the next scheduled delivery. TheraPoint nursing staff anticipates what quantities of supplies you will need based on your type of therapy, frequency of dosing etc., however, your home health nurse may instruct you in a routine that differs from what we anticipated. Please advise us if we need to adjust the quantities of supplies that we send to you.
- What do I do when my treatment has been completed?
Please call and inform us that your treatment is completed as soon as possible.
Sometimes your doctor may tell you to stop taking your I.V. medication but he or she will leave your I.V. access in place so you can be observed for a week or so, until it is determined that your treatment really has been successful. Usually in these cases you will need to continue flushing and changing the dressing to your I.V. access. We will need to know that you will still be requiring line maintenance supplies so, please call to inform us if this is the case.
Once you have notified us that your medication is finished and your I.V. access has been removed, we will notify our delivery department so they can plan to pick up your equipment. It may take a few business days for them to make the pick up, as deliveries of medications always takes priority over picking up equipment. Once your therapy has been completed you WILL NOT be charged for any additional days that the pump remains in your home.
When our delivery staff arrives at your home they will remove the pump and any pump accessories (e.g. I.V. pole, pump key, pump carrying bag, etc.) as well as any Sharps or chemo waste containers. Regulations prevent us from taking back and reusing any medications or supplies, such as flushes or dressings, once they have been dispensed to a patient’s home. If you have any of these supplies left over at the end of your therapy you may dispose of them in your household trash.
Please note that in general, insurers reimburse us a FIXED price for each day of your therapy. That price does not change based on how much or how little supplies we send to you. So, if you have extra supplies left over at the end of your therapy, rest assured that you and your insurance company have not been “over charged” for supplies you did not use. We always like to provide some extra supplies to cover unexpected circumstances. The small cost to TheraPoint for those extra supplies is well worth it to us, to know that you will not run short of important supplies before your next scheduled delivery.
|
|
