Costs associated with United States pharmacopeia compliant infusion clinics.

Carolyn Kusoski, Jennifer Booth, Stephanie Salch, Harrison Jozefczyk, Julie Kennerly-Shah

Journal of oncology pharmacy practice : official publication of the International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners 2022 Jan

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As costs continue to rise in oncology, a strategy that has been implemented to limit these costs is use of alternative sites of care. However, there are differences in regulatory standards between common sites of care such as freestanding infusion clinics and hospital outpatient departments. The costs associated with United States Pharmacopeia compliance were evaluated in order to better understand the cost of universally compliant hospital outpatient departments. Annual operational costs associated with United States Pharmacopeia compliance were estimated for a 30-chair infusion clinic with United States Pharmacopeia <797> and <800> pharmacy cleanrooms for non-hazardous and hazardous drugs, respectively. Annual United States Pharmacopeia compliance costs included: competency assessments, personal protective equipment, closed system transfer devices, labels, cleaning supplies, and environmental monitoring. One-time costs included initial cleanroom construction and renovations. Published information and benchmarks provided baseline assumptions for patient volume, staffing, and unit costs. If no published data was available, prices were estimated based on a similarly sized clinic. Recurring annual costs for a 30-chair fully compliant infusion clinic were calculated to be $785,207. One-time costs associated with initial construction and renovations were estimated to be $1,365,207-$1,535,207 and $965,207-$1,005,207, respectively. Costs associated with increased operational oversight and regulatory standards are a major contributing factor to the facility fee of hospital outpatient departments. Ultimately, all sites of care share in the goal to provide optimal patient care while considering all aspects of patient care, including cost. Therefore, a move towards consistent regulatory standards across all settings would aid in preventing discrepancies in care.

Citation

Carolyn Kusoski, Jennifer Booth, Stephanie Salch, Harrison Jozefczyk, Julie Kennerly-Shah. Costs associated with United States pharmacopeia compliant infusion clinics. Journal of oncology pharmacy practice : official publication of the International Society of Oncology Pharmacy Practitioners. 2022 Jan;28(1):141-148