lightfoot
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 2536
posted
Since Medicare Part D does not cover the IV doxy, I am in a position to have to pay out of pocket to infuse it at home.
Any ideas on best price and/or help with the costs?
Thanks in advance for any help you might be able to offer.
I would also like to invite those who enjoy quotes to check out the thread of quotes, Thought for the day....... over in General. I have been posting them once a day for years.
-------------------- Healing Smiles.....lightfoot Posts: 7228 | From CO | Registered: May 2002
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posted
Infuserve in Florida has some of the best cash prices.
There's an "Infusing for Lymies" guide floating around he Internet. Have you seen it? It has some great cost-saving tips.
Posts: 748 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2015
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lightfoot
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 2536
posted
Thanks, SickSam! Yes, I have the guide. Since my best price for Rocephin is at Costco, I never thought of asking InfuServe. That's where I've been getting my supplies....
-------------------- Healing Smiles.....lightfoot Posts: 7228 | From CO | Registered: May 2002
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posted
No problem! Yeah, I'd definitely ask them. Love those guys! They're always so helpful. I used them for IV vanco, IV Primaxin, and I'll be using them starting next week for my IV ceftazidime.
I wonder if part B will cover the IV doxy for you?? My IV ceftazidime has been covered under part B so far (just 1 month).
Posts: 748 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2015
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posted
I am using infuserve for rocephin right now !!!
$788.00 a month !!! I pay out of pocket !
-------------------- GOD IS GREATER than any Problem, failed plan, Debt, Disease, Army, Or Mountain standing in your way.. WITH GOD nothing is impossible. LUKE 1:37 Posts: 21 | From Massachusetts | Registered: Jan 2016
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lightfoot
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 2536
posted
sweetmelisa, if you shop around you can get a better price. I got a quantity of 100 two gram vials at Costco for $151.00.
I get my saline bags from a compounding pharmacy close by, very reasonable, $2.40 each plus shipping. Then I get my supplies from InfuServe.
-------------------- Healing Smiles.....lightfoot Posts: 7228 | From CO | Registered: May 2002
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lightfoot
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 2536
posted
SickSam,
Do you have to go to a hospital or infusion center to get the IV ceftazidime and have it covered under Part B??? Do you use a home health or infusion company and do it at home?
Looks like Part B will cover it for me if I go to a hospital or infusion center to get it. BIG commitment but that might be what it comes down to.
-------------------- Healing Smiles.....lightfoot Posts: 7228 | From CO | Registered: May 2002
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posted
I actually get mine from an infusion pharmacy and it's covered under Part B. I infuse it myself at home.
Infuserve can't bill any medicare plans though, so you'd have to use another infusion pharmacy to get it covered.
Posts: 748 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2015
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posted
I was originally looking at getting saline, heparin, and the ceftazidime vials from a regular pharmacy so that they would be covered under Part D, but with my plan it was actually cheaper to get everything from the infusion pharmacy and have it covered under Part B instead.
Posts: 748 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2015
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Rumigirl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15091
posted
quote:Originally posted by lightfoot: sweetmelisa, if you shop around you can get a better price. I got a quantity of 100 two gram vials at Costco for $151.00.
I get my saline bags from a compounding pharmacy close by, very reasonable, $2.40 each plus shipping. Then I get my supplies from InfuServe.
lightfoot, or anyone else who has mixed their own IV abx, how easy is it to mix while making sure that it is sterile?? I know that people do it; I just have never mixed it myself. And I am a stickler for sterility, as with a port my life depends on it!!
That's a fabulous price that you got from Costco!! How does it add up when you add in the rest? It still must be way cheaper than Infuserve.
Posts: 3771 | From around | Registered: Mar 2008
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She didn't wipe the top of the vial with alcohol in this video, but I would have.
Posts: 748 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2015
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lightfoot
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 2536
posted
Rumigirl,
Yes, it is very reasonable getting my supplies from InfuServe (for Port), meds from Costco (cash), and the saline bags from a God Neighbor compounding pharmacy.
My supplies run about 150.00 per month.
-------------------- Healing Smiles.....lightfoot Posts: 7228 | From CO | Registered: May 2002
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Rumigirl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15091
posted
Wow, that totals only about $100 per month!! That is a LOT different than $788 a month! Yes, you have to mix it & use gravity method vs a home-pump ball, but at that price difference, yow!
Thank you, everyone, for this.
Posts: 3771 | From around | Registered: Mar 2008
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posted
I'm used to be a chemist and had to prepare IV drug bags when we did stability setdowns. We had to wear full garb and prepared the IV bags in a particle free hood in a sterile room using sterile equipment
I understand people prepare the IVs in their home to save money....but this is not a good idea and the IV bags not going to be sterile no matter how carefully they are prepared.
Posts: 30 | From Wisconsin | Registered: Sep 2016
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lightfoot
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 2536
posted
madisongrrl...Hi!
They reconstitute the powdered drug with the saline and return it to the saline bag in a hospital setting?
The pharmacists have directed me to do it this way at home.
Thoughts?
-------------------- Healing Smiles.....lightfoot Posts: 7228 | From CO | Registered: May 2002
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Rumigirl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15091
posted
quote:Originally posted by madisongrrl: I'm used to be a chemist and had to prepare IV drug bags when we did stability setdowns. We had to wear full garb and prepared the IV bags in a particle free hood in a sterile room using sterile equipment
I understand people prepare the IVs in their home to save money....but this is not a good idea and the IV bags not going to be sterile no matter how carefully they are prepared.
This is what Infuserve said, that it is not safe for people to do at home, when we don't have safe-rooms, etc. I have a port, so if anything went wrong, I have an awful lot to lose. If I got sepsis, it would mean emergency surgery to remove the port.
And in my case, with CRPS/RSD (horrific nerve pain condition), any surgery is an extreme risk of spreading the condition!! That would be the end of me.
It's probably unlikely that anything would go wrong, but . . . If it did . . .
Posts: 3771 | From around | Registered: Mar 2008
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quote:Originally posted by lightfoot: madisongrrl...Hi!
They reconstitute the powdered drug with the saline and return it to the saline bag in a hospital setting?
The pharmacists have directed me to do it this way at home.
Thoughts?
I can only speak for myself and my own risk tolerance, but I would not do this. You are going to get particles in there from your environment. If I were to test a bag that was prepared in this manner, it would not pass aspects of GMP testing.
I do understand that this is the only way some people can afford IV....so I guess the best thing to do is to choose a room in your house that has the lowest amount of traffic and is clean, keep the exposure of all the substances and containers to an absolute minimum, and try to garb up as much as possible (sterile gloves, face mask etc). Think of all the sterile technique that goes into a PICC line bandage change....mixing drugs requires just as much care, if not more.
Rumi, I'm wondering if the concern they expressed to you was more about multi-dose vials and not single-dose vials.
Posts: 748 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2015
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Rumigirl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15091
posted
quote:Originally posted by SickSam: Just a note: Infuserve says to use an IV administration line with a filter if you mix meds yourself. https://infuserveamerica.com/supplies/
Rumi, I'm wondering if the concern they expressed to you was more about multi-dose vials and not single-dose vials.
madison girl, what do you think about what SickSam just said above?? I DO NOT want to risk sepsis!! So, most likely I need to have it mixed by Infuserve and pay the price. I'm just wondering about your thoughts on this. As if you hadn't made it clear already!!
If I got sepsis, any thoughts about saving $$ would seem REALLY stupid!! It's bad enough if you have a PICC line, but with a port, and with CRPS/RSD . . . really a severe risk.
I"m sure that the risk isn't just particulates, but any pathogens in the environment.
Posts: 3771 | From around | Registered: Mar 2008
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Of course, if you are able to get bags like in the video I posted above, the process is even easier.
Posts: 748 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2015
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quote:Originally posted by SickSam: Just a note: Infuserve says to use an IV administration line with a filter if you mix meds yourself. https://infuserveamerica.com/supplies/
Rumi, I'm wondering if the concern they expressed to you was more about multi-dose vials and not single-dose vials.
madison girl, what do you think about what SickSam just said above?? I DO NOT want to risk sepsis!! So, most likely I need to have it mixed by Infuserve and pay the price. I'm just wondering about your thoughts on this. As if you hadn't made it clear already!!
If I got sepsis, any thoughts about saving $$ would seem REALLY stupid!! It's bad enough if you have a PICC line, but with a port, and with CRPS/RSD . . . really a severe risk.
I"m sure that the risk isn't just particulates, but any pathogens in the environment.
I know you already called Infuserve, but you might want to call them again and discuss this. Ask them if they understand the condition of CRPS and specifically ask them the about the risk involved since the stakes are so much higher for someone like you. I'm very familiar with CRPS (doctors thought I had it....turns out I have full body small fiber neuropathy). A case of sepsis could flair and spread your condition.
Also, how confident are you? Can you follow all 25 steps on the Infuserve website with swiftness while using aseptic technique? Those are questions that you can only answer.
A few tips if you decide to go for it - not only wipe down the counter you are going to use but also buy some of those sterile towels to work on. You can get them on Amazon. I use them when doing my bandage changes so I can carefully open all the packages I'm working with and drop the contents onto the towel without touching what is inside the package. Wear a mask and keep everyone out of your workspace. Before you do this for real, do a few practice rounds without the drug to make sure you have your aseptic technique down.
Good luck. I have my fingers crossed that this goes well for you!
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