NHIA’s Clinical Program Manager Michelle Simpson, PharmD, BCSCP, MWC presented research conducted by the National Home Infusion Foundation (NHIF) at ID Week, the meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) held October 19-23 in Washington, D.C. The poster “Rate of Infusion Reactions Among Patients Receiving Casirivimab/Imdevimab in the Home Setting” was one of more than 1,600 research abstracts accepted and on display.
The study examines patient outcomes collected by home infusion companies who participated in administration of the monoclonal antibody for prevention and treatment of COVID-19 in 2021. Biologic medications are labeled with a warning for adverse drug reactions (ADRs), which can be assessed and treated, but have in the past caused many prescribers to prefer they be administered in a facility-based site of care, such as a hospital or clinic. Because the initial outbreak of COVID-19 precluded most, non-urgent facility-based care, the opportunity arose to study administration of an instrumental biologic therapy in alternate sites of care, including the home.
Data from home administration of casirivimab/imdevimab, including ADR rate, hospitalization, and death, were compared to data from 2 previous studies and showed a consistently low rate of hospitalization. In addition, patients who received infusions of casirivimab/imdevimab in the home setting had a lower rate of ADR than reported during clinical trials.
“I was honored to share NHIF’s findings with the infectious disease community, since these are the physicians who often prescribe infused biologic therapies, including monoclonal antibodies,” said Simpson. “Our results may help change some paradigms by demonstrating that the home can be a safe setting for drug administration with the proper protocols in place.”
As part of ongoing quality improvement activities, the National Home Infusion Foundation (NHIF) has released a draft standard definition for measuring home infusion medication adherence.
Everyone’s favorite wellness challenge is back! Join the National Home Infusion Foundation and NHIA Staff as we Infuse Wellness across our community this September.
In 2017, the National Home Infusion Foundation (NHIF) took the lead in developing the validated and standardized Uniform Patient Satisfaction Survey for Home Infusion Providers. While satisfaction scores have been stellar across 5 years of survey data from more than 43,000 patients, patient satisfaction with home infusion services reached an all-time high in 2023.
