In case you haven’t already, please meet Medical Alternatives, part of Baptist Memorial Health Care. Medical Alternatives provides comprehensive home infusion therapies in Arkansas, North Mississippi and Tennessee. The pharmacy covers a 150-mile radius of Memphis, with drivers making deliveries and with shipments.
Home infusion therapies are administered on an ambulatory pump, which makes it possible to receive therapy from anywhere – work, home or vacation spots.
“Patients can receive their medications and heal at home in a comfortable and familiar setting, and many are able to return to work while receiving therapy, ultimately leading to improved outcomes,” noted Anna Pepper, Manager of Marketing and Transitions for Medical Alternatives.
Medical Alternatives has provided home infusion therapy to patients throughout the Mid-South for more than 30 years. Pharmacists at Medical Alternatives review lab levels and consult with the ordering provider to make needed adjustments that are tailored for the patient’s condition and response. Medical Alternatives also works with home health aides to allow patients to receive dressing changes and lab draws from home.
“Home infusion therapy is a cost-saving alternative to inpatient care services that has been shown to be a safe method of treating most patients with minimal intrusion to their daily lifestyle activities,” said Dr. Chinyere Onyeagocha, Pharmacy Director for Medical Alternatives.
A variety of conditions are treated by home infusion therapy, including infections that aren’t responsive to oral antibiotics, gastrointestinal diseases, congestive heart failure, cancer and cancer-related pain, multiple sclerosis and more. Patients who receive home infusion therapy are usually referred by a nurse at a physician’s office, or a case manager or social worker at a hospital.
In most markets, case management has access to Medical Alternatives to schedule home infusion therapy, and in some markets, a Medical Alternatives team attends daily case management rounds to discuss patients’ needs as they near discharge. In the Memphis area, patients receive bedside education on home infusion before discharge. Medical Alternatives has full access to EPIC, including documentation notes that can be entered by intake RNs. Referrals may be sent in EPIC inbox, or via fax to 901-377-9103.
Medical Alternatives can be reached at 800-872-2209 or 901-377-9055. They’re available 24/7 to help make patients’ lives better.
