2012 NHIA Annual Conference & Exposition
Symposia Programming
Through the vital support of educational grants, NHIA Breakfast and Lunch Symposia programs add tremendous value to your Annual Conference learning experience— offering detailed, clinically relevant content from subject-matter experts!
Symposia will be presented each morning, April 24 – 26, 2012—and will conclude with a box lunch symposium on the last day of the conference (April 26, 2012).
Continuing Education Contact Hours
Pharmacy and Nursing—1.5 for Each Symposium*
Tuesday, April 24
6:45-8:30 AM^
Sheraton Valley of the Sun Ballroom C
Pharmacist, Pharmacy Technician and Nurse Continuing Education Contact Hours: 1.5
Breakfast Symposium:
Parenteral Nutrition Safety: Applying Standards of Practice to the Continuum of Clinical Care
Supported by an educational grant from Hospira Worldwide, Inc.
Parenteral nutrition (PN), a life-sustaining treatment for individuals who are unable to tolerate less invasive oral or enteral feeding options, is one of the most complex therapies provided to the home-based patient. From prescribing a formula that precisely matches each patient's nutritional needs, to accurately compounding and administering that formula, the potential for error is high in each step of delivering this complicated therapy. Considered a "High Alert" medication by the Institute for Same Medication Practices (ISMP), PN has been associated with serious error and patient harm in both acute care and home-based settings when not carefully managed according to published guidelines and best practices. As recently as 2011, improper sterile compounding of a parenteral nutrition formula has been reported with fatal outcomes. Attendees of this educational program will receive a heightened awareness of the risks involved in the delivery of PN therapy through an analysis of MedMarx error reporting data. Factors contributing to these errors, from environment to staff education and most recently the multi-drug shortage crisis, will be explored. A review of published guidelines and best practices will be presented as cornerstones for constructing an effective and safe parenteral nutrition therapy program.
Faculty: Jay M. Mirtallo, MS, RPh, BCNSP, FASHP, Director, Master's in Health Systems Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, The Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, OH
Wednesday, April 25
6:45-8:30 AM^
Sheraton Valley of the Sun Ballroom C
Pharmacist, Pharmacy Technician and Nurse Continuing Education Contact Hours: 1.5
Breakfast Symposium
Orphan Drugs in Alternate-Site Infusion: A Hereditary Angioedema (HAE) Case-Study
Supported by an educational grant from Shire
Education Overview:
Since 1983 and the passage of the Orphan Drug Act (ODA), the number of treatment options for people with rare diseases in the United States has grown exponentially. Prior to 1983, only 38 drugs were approved in the United States specifically to treat rare diseases, leaving thousands of patients suffering from these diseases with no viable treatment options. In the nearly 30 years since the ODA was passed, more than 2,120 different orphan drug designations have been granted by the Office of Orphan Products Development (OOPD) and more than 350 orphan drugs have received marketing authorization. This program will explore a case study that demonstrates the effectiveness of orphan drug development in the U.S.: Hereditary Angioedema, a rare disease affecting approximately 1 in 50,000 people in this country, was treatable only with supportive therapy until the first C1-esterase inhibitor therapy was released in 2009. Now this condition, which can be a life-threatening when the acute attack leads to laryngeal edema, is being treated in the home and in ambulatory infusion centers, reducing patient hospitalizations and emergency room visits and improving HAE patient's quality of life.
Faculty: Keith Crawford, Senior Vice President, Medical Marketing, Manufacturing Affairs and Clinical Trials, Coram Specialty Infusion Services, Denver, CO and Marc Riedl, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Medicine, Section Head, Clinical Immunology and Allergy, UCLA - David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA
6:45-8:30 AM^
Sheraton Valley of the Sun Ballroom DE
Pharmacist, Pharmacy Technician and Nurse Continuing Education Contact Hours: 1.5
Breakfast Symposium 
Effective Strategies for the Prevention and Treatment of Vascular Access Device (VAD) Complications in the Home-Based Patient
Supported by an educational grant from Covidien and Excelsior Medical
Education Overview:
VAD complications, including central-line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI), occlusion, and dislodgement, are a risk whenever an indwelling catheter is used, be that in the hospital or the home infusion setting. Key differences between these two sites of care, such as environmental considerations, reliance on lay vs. professional caregivers, and extended VAD dwell times, can all impact the likelihood that each complication will develop. Clinicians in the home infusion setting must carefully weigh the available evidence and make the best product and patient education decisions possible, in order to reduce this risk. With few research studies conducted in the home setting to assist in this VAD care product decision making, provider-based outcomes evaluations become essential tools for determining product efficacy and tolerance. From antisepsis of the skin and catheter hub, to novel dressing materials, injection ports and flush solutions, our panel of home infusion clinical practice experts will address the body of evidence that is available to inform decision making—and the importance of provider-initiated outcome evaluations where evidence is lacking.
Faculty: Debbie Cain, RN, CRNI®, Vice President, Home Parenteral Services, Cox Health, Springfield, MO; Melissa Leone, RN, BSN, Director of Nursing Operations, Coram, an Apria Healthcare Company, Hamden, CT; Kevin L. Ross, RN, BSN, Nursing Consultant, Bartonville, TX; and Felicia Schaps, RN, CRNI®, OCN, CNSC, Clinical Resource Nurse, HomeChoice Partners, Inc. - A DaVita Company, Annandale, VA
Thursday, April 26
6:45-8:30 AM^
Sheraton Valley of the Sun Ballroom DE
Pharmacist, Pharmacy Technician and Nurse Continuing Education Contact Hours: 1.5
Breakfast Symposium
IgG Therapy for the Home-Based Patient: Administration and Delivery Method Considerations
Supported by an educational grant from CSL Behring
Education Overview:
This symposium will provide an overview of Immunoglobulin G (IGG) use in the U.S. with particular emphasis on the subcutaneous (SC) route of administration. Despite the lack of direct comparative studies, sufficient available research in the form of retrospective analyses and crossover trials have shown that SCIG results in fewer systemic adverse events when compared to patients receiving IVIG. Unlike Intravenous IGG, SC infusions can be performed by patients or their caregivers, with independence typically achieved after 2-4 nurse teaching visits. With this route of IGG administration comes new infusion pumps and new infusion supplies. An overview of the medical supplies will be provided as well as helpful hints for performing SCIG infusions in the home, including tips for trouble-shooting common problems encountered by patients in this setting. A case study on converting a patient from IVIG to SCIG will be presented, incorporating the numerous factors to consider when transitioning patients to the SC route of administration. A brief overview of other IgG products in the pipeline will also be provided.
Faculty: Amy Clarke, RN, Program Manager, Specialty Infusion Services, Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy, Buffalo Grove, IL and Hetty Lima, RPh, FASHP, Vice President, Specialty Infusion & Rare Diseases, Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy, Libertyville, IL
6:45-8:30 AM^
Sheraton Valley of the Sun Ballroom C
Pharmacist, Pharmacy Technician and Nurse Continuing Education Contact Hours: 1.5
Breakfast Symposium
Overcoming Resistance: Maximizing Our Antimicrobial Arsenal in the Fight Against Gram Positive Organisms
Supported by an educational grant from Cubist
Education Overview:
From the growing list of resistant organisms, methicillin resistant staph aureus or MRSA alone has become a household term. Children are introduced to "mersa" in school, and instructed in basic infection control procedures to limit its spread in locker rooms and playgrounds. Healthcare providers have watched this multi-drug resistant organism move from the ICU to hospital ward and now into the community over the past 25 years—a progression made all the more alarming by the distinct nature of the "community-acquired" MRSA organism when genetically compared to the most common nosocomial versions.
Whether it's due to antibiotic overuse (viral infections), abuse (wrong dose, wrong length of treatment) misuse (wrong diagnosis), or failure to deploy adequate infection control measures, the challenge in effectively treating resistant MRSA infections is the same. Clinical efforts must be directed at keeping it as confined as possible, while new drug targets are sought. Treating more than 400,000 anti-infective patients each year, home infusion clinicians are uniquely positioned to powerfully impact the proper and judicious use of anti-infective agents in their home-based patients. This program will educate home infusion clinicians about their critical role in collaborating with prescribers to ensure antimicrobial stewardship principles govern their care of patients in the alternate-site setting.
Faculty: David J. Feola, PharmD, PhD, BCPS, Assistant Professor, Pharmacy Practice and Science, University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy, Lexington, KY
Box Lunch Symposium
New Parenteral Drugs and Biological Agents
Approved in 2011
12:30-2:15 PM
Phoenix Convention Center West Bldg 301C
Pharmacist, Pharmacy Technician and Nurse Continuing Education Contact Hours: 1.5
Supported by an educational grant from Innovatix, LLC
Education Overview:
New parenteral drugs and biological agents represent an opportunity for every stakeholder in the alternate-site infusion setting—especially to the patients who will receive them. Eager for relief or resolution of the medical condition being treated, new drugs and biological agents often renew hope in patients battling a chronic illness. Because of this high level of interest (and the associated potential for emerging business opportunities), infusion providers must quickly get up to speed on the myriad of considerations surrounding each new drug. Back again as a lunch symposium, attendees are invited to grab a boxed lunch and find a seat for a comprehensive review of all new parenteral and specialty drugs approved in 2011 and early 2012, incorporating the following information for each drug:
- Indication of the drug—what disease or condition is it intended to treat?
- Administration and compounding considerations—what do clinicians and technicians need to know about how the drug is prepared and delivered?
- Clinical monitoring and side effect profile—how did study patients fare in the clinical trials?
- Reimbursement considerations—where available, what do we know about the cost, recognition by private and government payers, and alternative treatment options for these drugs?
- Sales and Marketing Considerations—which physician specialties will be most likely to prescribe each of the new drugs discussed?
Every member of your team is sure to benefit from this vital update—obtaining a practical and strategic foundation for new patient service opportunities, both now and in the immediate future!
Faculty: Julee Alexander, PharmD, Pharmacy Manager and Patti Igarashi, PharmD, Branch Manager, Coram Specialty Infusion Services, Hayward, CA
^Note: A seated breakfast will be served at 6:45 AM and the education program will begin promptly at 7:00 AM.