Health systems ‘follow patient’ to provide home infusion

YARMOUTH, Maine – With demand for home infusion growing, it’s no surprise that some health systems seek to extend their reach into that market and they’re doing it with the help of big names like AmerisourceBergen, say M&A analysts. 

In April, AmerisourceBergen, a global health care company focused on pharmacy services, announced the launch of a program to help hospitals and health systems create or optimize home infusion service lines.  

“Hospitals are historically not great on the business side, as far as running some of the ancillary lines like home infusion,” said Michael Patton, managing director with Provident Healthcare Partners. “This brings them that management solution to maintain that line of income and continuity of care, following the patient into the home rather than losing them.” 

Also in April, CarepathRx, a provider of health system pharmacy and medication management solutions, announced a multi-year comprehensive home infusion pharmacy partnership with Mount Sinai Health System, New York City’s largest academic health system. 

Partnering with a company better able to manage all the moving parts of operating in the home infusion market makes sense, says Patton. 

“From what I’ve seen, AmerisourceBergen is offering the full scope of services to manage the infusion patient from soup to nuts,” he said. “They can manage everything from the revenue cycle management to the contracting from the payers to having a network of payers to working with the pharmacy to source the drug.” 

While home infusion has long been a growing segment of health care, driven by innovative technologies and a push to lower costs, the COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated that growth, say analysts. 

“When providers and patients found that they could stay out of the hospital and get care in alternate sites, whether an ambulatory infusion center or in in the home, that became very attractive,” said Jonathan Sadock, managing partner with Paragon Ventures. “It’s one of the most active M&A sectors we are in right now.” 

But will such large companies - AmerisourceBergen is ranked No. 8 on the Fortune 500, according to its website – have an outsized impact on competition in the home infusion market? Analysts don’t think so. 

“I would see it as more of an opportunity for smaller providers,” said Sadock. “Part of the reason is, certainly the ability to provide service, but (also) I think the pie is getting bigger. More patients are getting more advanced infusion treatments (in the home). I think there’s less of a concern that a competitor is going to take away business than an opportunity to expand their practice.”