Following the 2024 NICA Conference in Las Vegas, Bailey Klingaman comprises a brief recap of the latest news in the infusion industry, including the events that took place at the conference and topics for industry leaders to keep an eye on moving forward.
A few weeks ago, the 2024 National Infusion Center Association (NICA) Conference wrapped up a successful Las Vegas weekend. With many companies exhibiting and industry leaders and professionals in attendance, the 3-day event accomplished its goal of facilitating an environment to introduce infusion solutions, build relationships across the industry, and discuss trends in the field.
Recently in the Infusion Center Industry
Market Growth
According to a report by Business Research Insights, the infusion center industry is in for some positive growth over the next few years. The report has projected the infusion center market to undergo an estimated compound annual growth rate of 8.9% from 2022 to 2031 as a result of the following factors.
Due to the rise in chronic conditions and cancers around the world, the demand for ambulatory infusion centers is growing. Many of these diseases and conditions experience symptom relief and/or rehabilitative results when treated with medications administered through intravenous infusion. There are also advantages to ambulatory centers for this rising population, including affordability, accessibility, and specialized care.
Thanks to the benefits of non-hospital, community-based infusion services, the increasing population reliant on treatment has a more comfortable and convenient solution at their fingertips, driving demand for these centers and infusion center market growth.
However, there are some elements restricting this growth, including rising costs for providers, a shortage of healthcare workers, and pandemic-disrupted supply chains. But despite these challenges, the future for infusion centers looks bright, and the market can expect to prosper over the next few years.
Infusion Trends
In addition to the expected market growth over the next decade, the infusion industry is also seeing a trend toward eco-friendly and sustainable solutions, as well as the integration of technology into treatment.
One example of an eco-friendly transition is the use of non-PVC IV bags. These bags are made with more sustainable and non-toxic materials, eliminating the risk of plasticizers filtering into the IV solutions and potentially harming patients. Refurbished IV pumps are another example of a green alternative, and an example of technological integration. Refurbished pumps encourage the recycling and reuse of medical equipment, but still undergo rigorous testing to ensure reliability and function.
The use of smart infusion pumps, like Eitan Medical’s Sapphire Pump™, in the infusion setting has incredible advantages for safety, monitoring, and medication delivery. The connectivity with electronic health record systems streamlines administration, prevents medication errors, and enables real-time monitoring.
Infusion software platforms like WeInfuse are another instance of technology addressing challenges in the industry and providing innovative solutions. WeInfuse’s platform simplifies infusion management by streamlining the entire workflow. The software is equipped with features to modernize patient and order management, scheduling, patient engagement, inventory management, billing and claims, clinical documentation, and more. WeInfuse has also expanded its solution to include a complete pharmacy workflow as well, and is leading the infusion industry charge into an era of innovation.
However, with new technology there also comes a learning curve. Changes to workflows and routine are never easy, and it is a consistent struggle seen in the healthcare industry between new technology and established routines. That’s why WeInfuse has a responsive Client Success team to work with clients through training and answer any questions users may have. The industry is progressing to new heights and using new tools, and WeInfuse is there to help their users improve their processes.
2024 NICA Conference at a Glance
The Infusion Access Foundation Gala
What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas, and we’re ready to spill the beans about the awesome gala held by the Infusion Access Foundation (IAF) the night before the conference. An event to raise money and awareness about patient access to critical infusion treatments, the IAF fundraiser hit it out of the park. Complete with dinner, some fun games, a silent auction, and more, the 007: Diamonds Are Forever theme was mission accomplished.
Exhibiting at the Conference
After the Gala, our RxToolKit team spent a few days in the exhibit hall showcasing our infusion medication information and clinical training platforms, and networking with the attendees and other exhibitors. We also had a few fun games present to help everyone get in the Vegas vibe. Congratulations to our game winners: Miriam Gibson, Madison McFarlane, Menachem Goldfarb, Bernie Lambrese, and Tori Finnerty! We hope you enjoy your new merch!
If you weren’t able to stop by the RxToolKit booth or chat with our team outside of exhibiting hours, we would still love to talk. Give us a call at (888)798-5548, email us at sales@rxtoolkit.com, or stay up-to-date with our social media (all accounts – @rxtoolkit).
RxToolKit, WeInfuse, and SamaCare’s Golf Gathering
When in Vegas…so of course RxToolKit and WeInfuse had to have a little extra fun. After the first day of exhibiting, our teams partnered up with SamaCare to host an exclusive gathering at TopGolf. We had tons of fun chatting with our guests, teeing up some golf balls, and enjoying a beautiful evening post-exhibiting.
We had a great time at the 2024 NICA Conference, and we can’t wait for next year’s event in Miami Beach!
See what WeInfuse was up to at the conference in their Shining Bright in Vegas Recap blog.
What’s Next for Infusion Centers?
Advocacy
In addition to hosting the 2024 NICA Conference, IAF Fundraiser, NICA Infusion Center of Excellence (NICE) Experience, and other events that accompanied the conference, the National Infusion Center Association has also been busy advocating for those in the industry.
Government Price Setting, Reimbursement, and Stacking
In the latest issue of NICA’s The Infusion Advocate Magazine, the Association covers the latest news regarding the drug price negotiations and what NICA is doing to represent the needs of infusion centers.
According to NICA’s website and the updates in their magazine, the federal government and several states have established a “maximum fair price” (MFP) or upper payment limit for certain medications. This legislation limits how much providers are reimbursed for the medication regardless of how it was acquired or the cost of administration. Currently, the state of Texas allows providers to “receive reimbursement sufficient to support business operations,” but this could be altered by the implementation of the MFP system.
NICA worries that for medications subject to MFPs, there will be no guarantee that providers will be able to acquire the drugs at or below MFP price, and reimbursement may not be sufficient.
In addition to drug price negotiations, NICA has also been advocating against the proposed Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rule change regarding discount stacking. This rule change would force drug manufacturers to stack medication discounts and rebates to all stakeholders throughout the supply chain in order to determine the best price.
NICA worries that if this rule change is enacted, infusion providers may be unable to cost-effectively acquire medications, keeping patients from receiving their critical treatments or forcing them to receive higher-cost care at hospitals, and hindering future innovations in therapies.
Copay Accumulators & Maximizers
According to The Infusion Advocate, “the Biden Administration recently dropped its appeal to the copay assistance court ruling that struck down a Trump-era federal rule allowing insurers to implement copay accumulator programs.”
A copay accumulator program is a policy that allows insurers to collect patient copay assistance but does not include the copay assistance as part of the patient’s deductible or out-of-pocket maximum. Similarly, a copay maximizer program means the maximum value of the copay assistance is applied through the plan year, which prevents patients from reaching their deductible or out-of-pocket maximum. These policies can counteract the benefits of copay assistance to infusion patients, resulting in missed treatments or unexpected bills.
The “all copays count” movement has thwarted these policies by requiring insurers to include patient-paid copays or copay assistance toward deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums. NICA is a supporter of the Help Ensure Lower Patient (HELP) Copays Act (H.R. 830), federal legislation to make deductibles and/or out-of-pocket maximums inclusive of copay assistance.
Step Therapy
NICA is also a supporter of the Safe Step Act (S. 652), a program to reform step therapy protocols for federally-regulated plans.
Based on NICA’s website, step therapy is a “fail-first” strategy employed by health insurance plans to control costs. By requiring patients to try other treatment options before the treatment prescribed by their provider, step therapy is detrimental to the patient-provider relationship.
Some states have already implemented reform, establishing a system for providers to request exceptions and receive a timely response, and mandating that step therapy protocols are based on clinical guidelines instead of the health plan’s internal research or financial analysis.
Pharmacy Benefit Managers
Another timely policy that NICA had been advocating for is pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) accountability.
PBMs are third-parties contracted by health insurance companies to manage prescription drug benefits. By negotiating rebates with drug manufacturers in order to be placed on an insurers medication formulary, PBMs are incentivized to favor higher-cost drugs with large rebates. This also encourages manufacturers to raise drug prices to account for the rebates.
NICA is in support of increasing PBM accountability, alongside the state and federal movements that support delinking PBM compensation from drug list prices and instituting a flat fee.
To learn more about NICA’s advocacy efforts or to get involved in a specific issue, visit infusioncenter.org/advocacy.
Infusion & Pharmacy Software
In addition to streamlining workflows and smart infusion pumps, the infusion industry is also in need of solutions to improve education, update administration and preparation processes, and enhance safety for patients and clinicians. RxToolKit’s web-based software applications achieve exactly these goals and more.
The RxWorkFlow platform contains an online library of over 280 user-friendly medication guides designed and maintained by a team of clinicians. Accompanied by drug-specific calculators, printable patient education resources, and safety data sheets, each guide distills the lengthy medication package insert into an easy-to-navigate monograph with informative graphics, quick links, and personal note taking abilities for users.
Included in the software is the RxELearning platform, which offers training and drug-specific assessments for clinicians to enhance medication competency. Clinical managers have the option to assign specialty-driven Learning Paths to users and follow course progression, while receiving competency verification reporting. RxELearning also includes continuing education (CE) and continuing medical education (CME) units provided by the Infusion Nurses Society and the Immunoglobulin National Society.
This year, RxToolKit has upgraded its software application to improve platform resiliency and modernize the interface. To learn more about RxWorkFlow and RxELearning, visit rxtoolkit.com/solutions, or schedule a demo of the software at rxtoolkit.com/request-demo.
