Physicians, pharmacists, and home infusion antibiotic therapy.

Home infusion antibiotic therapy has been proven effective, safe, and economical for a variety of infectious diseases. Programs for home infusion have been established in hospitals, home care companies, and physician offices. These programs utilize the combined efforts of physicians, pharmacists, and nurses and rely heavily on the active participation of the patient to provide quality care for a fraction of the cost of hospital-based infusion. Additionally, given a choice, patients prefer to receive intravenous antibiotic therapy at home. Current reimbursement policies, however, acknowledge neither the economic benefit to be derived from home therapy nor patient preference for this mode of intravenous antibiotic therapy.