It has been a long time since I owned and operated my own infusion centers. I recall those days with a smile, even though they were sometimes very challenging. These days, I have the opportunity to speak with infusion teams nationwide every week, so I am constantly reminded of the hard work and dedication that they all provide for their companies and, most importantly, their patients.
Every morning there is an infusion team member who unlocks a door in the dark, turns on the lights, adjusts the AC or heat, starts the coffee maker, replaces the patient snacks, boots up the computers, cleans the chairs, logs the refrigerator temperatures, checks the inventory, and generally prepares the infusion center for the day’s patients. This happens nearly every weekday (and sometimes on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays)in thousands of infusion centers and/or provider offices from Alaska to Maine.
It is difficult to know all of the tasks that go into a single infusion unless you’ve really stepped inside the space. A patient only sees point A to point B–scheduling their infusion to leaving infused–but what they don’t see are the countless tasks behind the scenes.
As patients arrive, the infusion team begins preparing and administering tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of medications. There are IV lines to start, PICC line dressing changes, and ports to flush. Patients also need help with smaller tasks, like a disconnect for a run to the bathroom, or grabbing a snack or two. In addition to the direct patient care, there are countless coordination of care activities and insurance challenges that come up in a single day.
In most of the recent infusion centers l visit, all of this chaos is managed by a team of smiling and caring superstars, all while pumps are beeping, phones are ringing, and medication deliveries are arriving at the door.
If you have not yet had the pleasure of seeing a well-run infusion center up close, it is likely not long before that will change. Infusion and specialty injections are now part of nearly every clinical specialty and are available for more and more diseases each year. It is more likely than ever before that you or someone you know will need the services of an infusion center at some point in the near future.
When that time comes, I hope you see what we see all of the time: infusion centers are a critical, unique, and very cool part of the healthcare medication delivery system. The real magic is not in the nice finish of the facility or even the heated recliners. The special sauce is the awesome group of administrative, clinical, and financial teams who work to bring a patient and medication together in a comfortable and safe environment so they can better manage their disease and go about their lives.
I want to take a moment to thank the thousands of infusion center, provider-office infusion suite, and home infusion pharmacy team members who make it their job every day to serve patients in this special space. It makes our job at WeInfuse that much more fulfilling to know that we play a small part in that story, and we appreciate every one of you.
Shameless plug–If you want to attend an event where you can meet all of these awesome people I spoke about in a single room, think about attending the National Infusion Center Association (NICA) conference this summer in Miami, FL. If you do, I know you will be just as impressed as I have been at how many great people work in this space.
I hope to see you there.
Bryan Johnson
CoFounder and CEO, WeInfuse & RxToolKit
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About The Author
Having owned and operated a chain of successful infusion centers, WeInfuse founders, CEO Bryan Johnson and COO Reece Norris, experienced firsthand the unique challenges of the infusion industry down to its complex medication delivery model, inefficient processes, and staff burnout. They know the vital role infusion nurses & infusion centers play in patients’ lives, and the importance of an effective software platform to back them up. They believe in the infusion center model as it provides the healthcare system with a win-win-win solution: The patient wins, the provider wins, and the payer wins.
WeInfuse is dedicated to keeping infusion simplified by streamlining workflows for home infusion, specialty pharmacies, and infusion centers. WeInfuse software enables infusion operators to operate efficiently, decrease burnout, maximize profits, and improve clinical outcomes.
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