My doc.is putting me on IV rocephen,,through a infusion center.They charge 40.00 a day to send a nurse in once a week.So it's 280.00 weekly even though they come once a week to flush the picc line,This is outrageous,,what are the other alternatives?at a hospital outpatient/?
Posted by docjen (Member # 7510) on :
If you are paying $280 a week for IV, supplies, and nurse care, then be thankful!!! I am paying $1,000 a week out of pocket, and haven't found anything cheaper. Good luck.
Posted by beatlyme (Member # 15262) on :
I guess I was just wondering if after the pic line is in,can't I just go to the hospital as an outpatient,where my medical will cover it,to have the dressing changed,aand have it flushed?
Posted by Doomer (Member # 11013) on :
You will flush your line after each infusion, so if you have an infusion in the am then you flush with saline and heparin and then have an abx infusion in the pm then you flush with saline and heparin again. You do the flusing.
THe only thing you need the nurse to do is clean the picc site and change the bandgage. This is done once a week. If your insurance will only pay for outpatient and not home care then go to the hospital outpatient infusion center and have them do dressing changes once weekly.
Posted by njgirl14 (Member # 14174) on :
My infusion co told me that if at some point my ins stops paying they have a self pay plan that is discounted for patients. Much less than what has been said here. They are all over the country. If anyone wants their # PM me.
I have also been told that ins will sometimes pay for the nurse even if they are not paying for the IV. Doesn't make sense I know but when does what ins co do ever make sense. The IV co deals with the ins too.
Posted by AP (Member # 8430) on :
Before my port, I had many PICC lines. My doctor's office taught us how to do dressing changes on our own and would supply the dressing change kits. This made me pretty self-sufficient and no home health was necessary.