BANNOCKBURN, Ill., Nov. 19, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Option Care Health, Inc., the nation’s largest independent provider of home and alternate treatment site infusion therapy services, has been chosen by Highmark health plan as a preferred provider of factor drug products for the treatment and management of plan members with hemophilia, beginning in January 2020.
A national leader in treating bleeding disorders, Option Care Health provides specialized intravenous (IV) infusion of clotting factors that control bleeding, which people with hemophilia are missing. Option Care Health has access to all hemophilia factor treatments, including those that are limited in distribution.“Highmark chose to partner with Option Care Health because of the extraordinary care we provide to patients as well as our rigorous performance standards and ability to control drug waste and costs while still delivering excellent outcomes,” said Rich Denness, Chief Strategy Officer for Option Care Health. “The health plan recognizes that we will provide their members who have been diagnosed with hemophilia the highest-quality personalized care to help manage this complex and challenging condition.”Option Care Health’s Bleeding Disorders (BD) program features care teams – including a patient benefit navigator – with special Hemophilia Treatment Center (HTC) training to guide the patient experience from referral through treatment. The Option Care Health team, anchored by a dedicated BD-certified, HTC-experienced nurse and pharmacist, work closely with the patient’s providers to develop a personalized care plan that ensures the patient’s treatment and therapy goals are aligned for successful disease management. Patients and their physicians have access to Option Care Health’s hotline offering 24/7 assistance from a dedicated bleeding disorders clinician.“Our Bleeding Disorders program will now align with Highmark’s Hemophilia Member Care Program to streamline care of their members,” said Leslie Hall, Vice President of Hematology and Transplant Therapies for Option Care Health. “This partnership reflects the shift away from a hands-off specialty pharmacy model to the patient-centric model Option Care Health offers. We are working closely with Highmark to ensure their members experience a seamless transition.”Highmark is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association covering the insurance needs of 4.5 million members in Pennsylvania. Highmark health plans have approximately 190 members who have been diagnosed with hemophilia, a genetic disorder in which people are missing proteins that control bleeding, called clotting factors. The company spends around $80 million annually on care for people with hemophilia, with about 90% of that attributed to pharmacy costs.¹ Without treatment, people with hemophilia can experience life-threatening bleeding into joints and large muscle groups that can damage internal organs and tissues. They require lifelong treatment of IV infusions of drug products containing their type of missing clotting factor. Option Care Health’s patient-centric BD clinical care program – with close monitoring of bleeds and collaboration with providers to optimize treatment dose – maximizes clinical outcomes while controlling costs arising from hospital stays, emergency room visits and factor usage.Option Care (now Option Care Health) presented a study to the World Federation of Hemophilia showing that 77 hemophilia A patients receiving home infusion of factor VIII care through the Option Care clinical program received fewer units per week (102 vs. the national average of 108 units per week) with better bleed rate outcomes. This translates into an annual cost savings of $1.6 million USD ($21,165 per patient). ² Further, the annual bleed rate for these patients was 1.7, less than the average annual bleed rate that ranges from 2 to 5.³Option Care Health was formed through the merger of Option Care and BioScrip to create the largest independent home and alternate site infusion service provider in the United States. This makes Option Care Health the partner of choice for pharmaceutical manufacturers requiring innovative distribution channel and patient support models to access the market.About Option Care HealthAt Option Care Health, Inc. (Option Care Health) (NASDAQ: BIOS), we are the largest independent home and alternate site infusion services provider in the United States. With over 6,000 teammates including 2,900 clinicians, we work compassionately to elevate standards of care for patients with acute and chronic conditions in all 50 states. Through our clinical leadership, expertise and national scale, Option Care Health is reimagining the infusion care experience for patients, customers and employees. To learn more, please visit our website at OptionCareHealth.com.Media Contact Information:Highmark Inc. press release. Highmark Establishes High-Performance Hemophilia Partnership. Nov. 19, 2019. Retrieved from https://www.highmark.com/hmk2/newsroom/2019/pr111919Hemophilia.shtml.Couden J, Schmidt K, Milenski K. Home Infusion Model Can Reduce Factor Consumption. Poster presented at the World Federation of Hemophilia 2016 World Congress, July 24-28, Orlando, Florida.Oldenburg J. Optimal treatment strategies for achievements and limitations of current prophylactic regimens. Blood. 2015; 125(13): 2038-2044.
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