Drug Topics - February 11, 2008 - (Page 41) www.drugtopics.com FEBRUARY 11, 2008 DRUG TOPICS 41 Home Care NHIA’s new leader assesses challenges facing home infusion industry Sandra Levy ussell Bodoff took the reins of the National Home Infusion Association (NHIA) as executive director last February, replacing Lorrie Kaplan who had served in that role for 15 years. Bodoff was formerly the executive director of the Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAS), which he helped launch in March 2003 and the VP of business and technology development for the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. Drug Topics asked Bodoff about the goals he has set for NHIA, whose membership roster currently tallies 700 alternate site infusion providers. R wind up in a nursing home for six weeks while the other partner stays at home. The individual in the facility away from his home may develop cognitive decline. The same thing can happen to the spouse at home alone. It is not unusual to see new medical problems develop, accidents, and a terrible burden on other family members.” Russell Bodoff believes that developing technologies will allow for more long-distance care and monitoring. What are your priorities as executive director of NHIA? “My No. 1 priority is dealing with the problems of Medicare reimbursement for Medicare patients who receive alternate site infusion treatment. The legislation we are pushing is H.R. 2567. A lot of organizations are pushing for this legislation. It’s always an uphill challenge with a Congress that is still debating such major healthcare issues as the SCHIP bill. It’s one of those rare times where you have legislation that will lower healthcare costs and improve quality, and is supported by patients, pharmacists, and physicians. Unfortunately, the Congressional Budget Office looks only at costs of new legislation, without considering the resulting savings or clinical outcomes. The proposed legislation could possibly add $1.5 billion in costs to Medicare Part B over 10 years. However, the legislation would create much larger savings in Medicare Part A by keeping patients out of hospitals and long-term-care facilities. Since Medicare Part A has significant financial challenges, it is hard to understand why members of Congress will not take the opportunity to improve quality of care and lower costs at the same time. The costs of infusion treatment in an institutional setting can run thousands of dollars a day, versus infusion treatment in alternate site locations, which runs in the hundreds of dollars. It is not unusual to see sad cases involving elderly couples. If the husband or wife needs an infusion treatment and needs to go into a nursing home to ensure Medicare coverage, he or she may How would you describe the current state of the home infusion field? “The field continues to grow. There have been a number of significant acquisitions over the past few months and venture capital is coming into the field. While some infusion pharmacies struggle, there are many positive indications for future growth. There’s the aging of our population and a rich pipeline of infusable drugs.” What are the challenges that you foresee for home infusion pharmacy? “One of the challenges in the future will be the need to develop and adapt digital technologies that allow for more long-distance care and monitoring. Our country is facing a significant nursing shortage and it will become more and more difficult in the future to find an adequate number of skilled infusion nurses. Technology can help nurses be more efficient and could help reduce the number of home visits.” What are your goals for the home infusion pharmacist and for NHIA? “A major priority for NHIA is to strengthen its financial position to be able to drive a more proactive advocacy program. NHIA needs to be in a position to deal with not only reimbursement issues, but also the many changes that will take place in healthcare funding. In 2008 NHIA will be moving from primarily an individual member organization to a trade association with company members.” NHIA notified members of its transition to a “Trade Association,” in a letter stating, “Under the new structure, each provider member will have equal opportunity for input into our priorities, regardless of size. The strength of your voice will depend on how involved your company wants to be with NHIA.” DT http://www.drugtopics.com
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