Reliable Home Infusion Therapy in Williamsport, PA
Home Infusion Services at UPMC Susquehanna provides patients with individualized infusion therapy assistance and instruction, primarily in the comfort and convenience of their own homes, but also, if required, in other settings such as hospice and respite care.
Our program—for people of all ages who need to receive medications or nutrients through a vein, under the skin, in the spine or through a feeding tube—is designed to help patients become as independent as possible after they are discharged from a hospital or other medical facility.
Using a team approach that emphasizes clinical patient management, we offer patients and their family members thorough instruction and follow-up care from staff nurses who are specially trained in infusion therapy, feedback from the patient’s referring physician, diet assessment and feeding assistance from a dedicated staff dietician, and medication mixing and monitoring by staff pharmacists who are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Services and Treatments
- Clinical patient management
- Pre-discharge planning
- Patient education
- Patient follow-up care
- Pharmacy coverage
- Reimbursement service
- IV antibiotic therapy
- IV hydration
- Total parenteral nutrition
- Total enteral nutrition
- Pain management
- Central venous catheter care
Clinical Patient Management
Our services begin even before the patient is discharged from a hospital or medical facility, starting with a thorough clinical evaluation of the patient to determine whether home infusion therapy is an appropriate treatment for them. Once the patient’s eligibility is established, an individualized, structured education and training program is prepared for them and their family members and conducted in the patient’s home by our staff nurses.
Clinical patient management is assured through:
- Pre-discharge planning
- Preliminary patient evaluation by the clinical nurse coordinator
- Development of a structured training plan
- Patient education
- Individualized instruction provided to the patient and family with follow-up as necessary
- Educational materials
Patient Follow-up Care
Our staff nurses are all highly qualified specialists in infusion therapy who are available 24/7 to assist patients in their homes or to consult by telephone if any problems arise. The nurses of Home Infusion Services at UPMC Susquehanna also work closely with the patient’s visiting nurse and referring physician to coordinate the patient’s care and to ensure that the patient is receiving the appropriate treatment at home. In addition to providing round-the-clock support from our team of pharmacists and nurses, we are the only home infusion therapy program in our area to offer patients the services of a registered staff dietician with the expertise to provide expert diet assessment and assist patients with intravenous or tube feeding.
Services provided by our staff include:
- First-dose assistance and training in the home
- Home visits as necessary with updates sent to the referring physician
- Home inventory management and delivery
- 24-hour, seven-day-per-week nursing and pharmacy coverage
- Nutrition support by a registered staff dietician, as needed
Pharmacy Coverage
Any issues surrounding their medications. The pharmacists of Home Infusion Services at UPMC Susquehanna monitor patients’ lab work to ensure that they are receiving the correct medication and that the dosage is appropriate for their illness and height/weight, etc. The pharmacists also review the patient’s chart every time they dispense a medication in order to prevent adverse drug interactions and duplication of therapies, and they regularly consult with the patient’s primary physician.
- IV admixture aseptic compounding
- Therapeutic drug monitoring to provide successful outcomes
- Patient profiles to prevent drug interactions and duplication of therapies
- Pharmacist available 24 hours a day, seven days a week
Reimbursement Services
The Home Infusion Services at UPMC Susquehanna in-house billing team works directly with the insurance companies to handle the complex billing process on the patient’s behalf so patients can focus solely on their treatment and recovery. Our reimbursement experts also handle the crossover billing for patients who have more than one insurance carrier (for example, private insurance and Medicare). On occasions when patients are having difficulty paying large out-of-pocket expenditures such as co-payments, our billing team will work with them to come up with a payment plan that they can afford.
- Determination of patient eligibility
- Third-party reimbursement, billing and collection
- Assistance with alternative sources of reimbursement, if available
Contact Us
Susquehanna Home Infusion Services team of home infusion therapy specialists is led by:
- Lori Baer, RN, Clinical Coordinator
- Susan Sarginger, RPh, Primary Pharmacist
- Vicki Stea, RD, Staff Dietician
1201 Grampian Boulevard
Williamsport, PA 17701
Phone: (570) 320-7660 or 1 (800) 848-2213
At UPMC Susquehanna, our team of specialists offer excellence in home infusion therapy. Find a Provider to learn more.
UPMC Susquehanna is dedicated to ensuring that our patients receive quality home infusion services in Williamsport, PA, and the surrounding areas.