U.S. healthcare organizations are seeing growing demand for home infusion services, along with increasing regulatory, operational and financial pressures. Partnering with the right infusion provider helps support patient safety, maintain compliance and streamline workflows and deliver efficient, high-quality care.
According to a 2023 study, cited by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the number of Americans over age 50 with at least one chronic disease is expected to nearly double (increasing by 99.5 percent from 2020 to 2050).
Learn critical evaluation criteria, red flags to avoid and how RN-led home infusion care services from BrightStar Care® stand apart.
Why Choosing the Right Infusion Partner Matters
Choosing the right home infusion nursing partner is important for healthcare organizations, payors and research partners to ensure patient safety, regulatory compliance and operational efficiency.
Rising Demand for Home Infusion
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By 2040, there will be an estimated 24 million Americans over age 65. This, combined with a rise in chronic illness, is driving increased demand for infusion therapy. According to the 2024 Mertz-Taggart Infusion Therapy Market Overview, the infusion therapy market is projected to expand at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.6 percent.
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This overview also cites the increased availability of IV drugs for in-home use and payor dynamics as two distinct drivers for shifting the sites of care for IV therapies from higher-cost sites (e.g., hospitals and outpatient facilities) to home settings.
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Patients increasingly prefer in-home infusion care because it is significantly less expensive than other sites of care.
|
Site of care |
Cost per infusion |
|
Hospital |
$5,500 to $11,500 |
|
Physician office (OIC) |
$3,500 to $5,000 |
|
Ambulatory infusion center (AIC) |
$3,500 to $5,000 |
|
Home |
$1,700 to $3,500 |
Source: https://infusioncenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Infusion-Industry-Overview.pdf
Risks of the Wrong Partnership
The risks below highlight the importance of careful partner selection for maintaining high-quality patient care, satisfaction and operational efficiency:
- Patient Safety: Infusion therapy nurses must follow strict protocols to ensure patient safety and prevent potential complications such as adverse drug reactions, catheter-related infections and administration errors.
- Regulatory and Reimbursement Risk: All locations must have proper Joint Commission accreditation and meet all payor requirements to ensure proper reimbursements.
- Operational and Financial Inefficiencies: Your home infusion partner must respond to referrals promptly, maintain adequate capacity and provide accurate and transparent reporting to maintain efficient workflows, control costs and ensure patient satisfaction.
Key Qualities of a Strong Infusion Partner
When evaluating a home infusion nursing provider, look for the best home infusion care that ensures safety, compliance and operational efficiency.
Clinical Expertise and RN Leadership
- Choose partners with skilled infusion nurses who have specialty training and competency in complex in-home IV therapy care (e.g., Chemotherapy and Immunomodulating Therapy for oncology, inotropic agents for cardiovascular conditions, IVIG and SQIG for autoimmune therapies, total parenteral nutrition (TPN) for Nutrition support and biologics for a number of diagnosed conditions ) to ensure high-quality care and optimal patient safety.
- Select partners with skilled local RN oversight and strong national leadership to ensure operational alignment and efficiency across all locations.
BrightStar Care provides RN-led clinical oversight at all locations. Local RNs are supported by national leadership, ensuring standardized workflows, protocols and operational efficiency across all locations.
Accreditation and Compliance
- Confirm all partners and partner locations are Joint Commission-accredited.
- Verify that all partners and partner locations demonstrate adherence to Infusion Nurses Society (INS) and Immunoglobulin National Society (IgNS) safety protocols. BrightStar Care partners with the INS to ensure the highest standard of in-home infusion care.
Due Diligence
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Request to speak with the Senior Director of Infusion Services or another member of the Clinical team.
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Evaluate existing technologies to ensure they have an EHR and centralized analytics to ensure real-time visibility, transparent documentation and quality control at every step and level of care.
BrightStar Care is the first and only national home care brand to require all locations to achieve and maintain Joint Commission accreditation, ensuring they meet high standards for quality and safety in care. We are also the only home care brand to have earned the Joint Commission’s Enterprise Champion for Quality Award every year it has been offered since its inception in 2013.
Scalability and Flexibility
A high-quality home infusion partner must be able to adapt to varying demand, therapy-specific requirements and offer broad geographic coverage without impacting care consistency or safety.
- Capacity for Fluctuating Demand: The partner should demonstrate the ability to manage urgent cases or specialty cases. This includes rapid referral-to-start times, 24/7 care availability options and RN-led infrastructure to maintain continuity and quality of care.
- Nationwide Reach: The partner should demonstrate consistent care and reporting across their locations. Broad geographic coverage ensures all patients receive the same level of clinical oversight and safety protocols.
- Customizable Infusion Nurse Services: The partner should deliver tailored workflows according to therapy type, patient need, scheduling, specialized equipment and monitoring. This helps ensure seamless integration with operational requirements and hospital-level care at home.
BrightStar Care combines a nationwide RN-led network with local and national oversight, providing scalable and adaptable infusion solutions to expand your workforce capacity and support your operational and clinical needs.
Communication and Collaboration
At BrightStar Care, we understand communication and collaboration are essential for maintaining patient safety, operational efficiency and care coordination.
Here’s what to look for when evaluating outpatient infusion alternatives and in-home infusion programs for your organization:
- Transparent Reporting: Top-tier solutions provide clear, accessible documentation for stakeholders, ensuring full transparency into their patient care and adherence protocols. These detailed records also ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, allowing your organization to track patient outcomes and operational efficiency in real-time.
- Seamless Integration: A strong home infusion partner should align with your existing workflows and EHR systems. This means supporting optimal care and coordination across locations.
Our proprietary technology allows our staff to deliver real-time updates to the supervising nurse, so the customized care plan can be adjusted in real time, if needed. This flexibility reduces the likelihood of falls, infections, hospital readmissions, medication interactions and other adverse outcomes.
BrightStar Care as the Partner of Choice
Selecting the right home infusion nursing partner is critical for ensuring patient safety, regulatory compliance, operational efficiency and high-quality outcomes. Organizations, payors and specialty pharmacies considering care partners for in-home infusion services should carefully evaluate their clinical expertise, accreditation, scalability, reporting transparency and ability to integrate with existing workflows.
BrightStar Care infusion nurses have extensive expertise in infusion therapy delivery. Our nationwide RN-led infusion services, proven infusion care model, accredited safety and compliance protocols, robust infrastructure, clinical expertise and rapid response capabilities provide the workforce solution you need to increase your capacity and care response.
Client success stories and outcomes
BrightStar Care’s in-home infusion and in-home support services deliver measurable results for patients and partner organizations. An independent analysis by Avalere Health, a leading US-based healthcare analytics firm, helps highlight the difference:
- Significant Cost Savings for Patients: Medicare beneficiaries using our services saw reductions in total healthcare costs (up to $29,900 per patient), especially for those managing chronic conditions like multiple sclerosis, lung cancer and seizure disorders.
- Why this matters to partners: It translates into lower organizational spend and more predictable resource use.
- Reduced Hospitalizations, Emergency Room (ER) Visits and Improved Adherence: Patients receiving our support had fewer overall hospital admissions and ER visits compared to those not receiving these services.
- Why this matters to partners: It translates into improved workflow efficiency and reduced strain on staff.
- Better Chronic Condition Management: Patients are more likely to adhere to treatment plans when they receive personal care, home support, medication reminders and RN-led care.
- Why this matters to partners: It translates into better quality metrics and improved alignment with regulatory requirements.
We Offer:
- Nationwide RN-led infusion services across 41 states
- Integration with existing workflows and EHRs
- Infusion Nurses Society-aligned protocols for safety and consistency
- Rapid referral-to-start times and 24/7 coverage
- Dedicated account management and ongoing collaboration
Partner with Bright Star Care Today
Our infusion services provide patients with high-quality, personalized and convenient care in the comfort of home.
Partner with BrightStar Care to ensure your patient receives safe, timely and compassionate infusion therapy while optimizing care efficiency.
We’re ready to partner with your organization to deliver better health outcomes through a flexible, high-quality healthcare workforce solution. Ask about our business partnerships.