Comment on Advice Needed: How to get immunotherapy treatment in a rural area where the clinics do not administer the shots?

chagall@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

Are you US-based?

If your wife administers the injection at home, how do you acquire the injection? Would your allergist mail you the agent, would you need to pick it up from their office in person or would you pick it up at a local pharmacy after the MD send in the Rx to that pharmacy?

  1. As the other person commented, a locally-owned pharmacy is a reasonable option. Walgreens/CVS probably won’t be able to do it.

  2. Any hospital infusion center can do this for you. I’d look for an oncology infusion center. Even though you are in immunology and not oncology, an OCN is incredibly skilled at giving sub-q injections. They are used to patients having adverse reactions to chemotherapy (anaphalaxis) and subsequently have the necessary training to make sure you will be fine.

  3. Have your current MD personally call the MD at the local immunology clinic. Docs will, more often than not, grant other docs favors and considering that the new clinic would be able to bill for the immunological agent and also the administration of that agent (two separate fees), it’s not a huge favor to grant.

  4. Get a local primary care doctor and have your immunologist’s office set up injections to be done in-clinic. This has the similar risk profile as the pharmacy administered injections. If you ask for this yourself, you will probably get turned down. If your allergist MD asks, the request will probably be granted.

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