Easing Five Infusion Center Financial Challenges with Remitra® Managed Accounts Payable Solutions

Key takeaways:

• Ambulatory infusion centers (AICs) are gaining a strong foothold in the U.S. healthcare system, enabling patients with complex chronic conditions to receive ongoing treatment outside the hospital.

• Injectable medications are expensive and payer reimbursement can be slow, which can lead to financing need for AICs to procure drugs and supplies necessary for the delivery of care.

• Utilizing Remitra® Managed Accounts Payable solutions, AICs can obtain the credit they need while extending their payables timelines; potentially gain access to working capital, wholesale purchasing models and prompt-pay discounts; increase efficiencies through automated accounts payable and invoicing; and strengthen their supply chain resiliency with the goal of better patient care.

Ambulatory infusion centers (AICs) are a critical component of the continuum of care (CoC), providing patients with an attractive alternative to an in-hospital setting for receiving intravenous treatments for cancer, autoimmune disorders and other chronic diseases.

Via the AIC model, care is generally managed and performed by skilled nurses and clinical pharmacists at an outpatient site pursuant to physician orders. Proving to yield both substantial savings and positive outcomes, the delivery model can be beneficial not only to patients and their caregivers in terms of comfort and convenience, but also to commercial and government payers in terms of cost effectiveness.

The benefits of AICs are real. However, to realize them and bring these much-needed therapies to their patients, AICs may need to overcome a major hurdle – financing. Medications used in infusion therapy are expensive and it may take providers several weeks to several months to be reimbursed for their cost, depending on the patient’s private health plan, Medicare or Medicaid coverage.

The slow reimbursement process can put AICs in a financial bind, making it difficult for them to acquire these costly drugs and provide the continuity of care patients require. Oftentimes AICs work with multiple pharmaceutical distribution groups and their ability to obtain credit with these groups can be key to having the medications on hand when their patients need them, as is the opportunity to extend payment terms as far out as possible. Read more >