With 20 years of clinical experience, Sandostatin® is a well-trusted brand by physicians. Physicians have prescribed and administered Sandostatin® LAR Depot (octreotide acetate for injectable suspension) to their patients with acromegaly to achieve powerful biochemical control.
Now, with the Nurse Home Injection Program, the clinical experience of Sandostatin® is available at home.
This section will highlight some of the benefits and details of the Nurse Home Injection Program, including:
Nurse Home Injection Program—A Convenient Treatment Option for Patients with Acromegaly
Offer the convenience of home care with the quality of a clinical experience:
- Right dose, right time, right technique
- Home visits can be scheduled beyond traditional office hours if that is the "right time" for your patient
- Appropriate dose given by RNs on time and on target as directed by physician
- Prescribed dosing and titration maintained
- Appropriate administration eliminates variables in the decision to titrate
Manage treatment at physicians' and patients' convenience:
- Eliminate office time devoted to preparing and administering injections*
- Receive feedback from skilled nurses
- Program fully administered by BioScrip®
- Enable patients to make choices that suit their lifestyles, yet leave the responsibility of drug administration to specially trained professionals
- Eliminate long patient trips to office or treatment center
- No needles for patients' disposal
* Program does not replace regular patient visits or monitoring by physicians.
How the Program Works
*Patients must receive their first does of Sandostatin® LAR Depot in the physician's office.
- As part of the Nurse Home Injection Program, physicians will receive:
- Frequently Asked Questions brochure
- Enrollment forms
- Easel announcing the Program (for the office)
- BioScrip® will verify insurance information and obtain any missing information. They will then inform physician and patient of acceptance to the Program
- Nurse scheduler contacts patient to determine best time for home visits. Patient is given treatment nurse's contact information and will hear from nurse before the first visit
- Nurses provide appropriate administration of Sandostatin® LAR Depot to the patients they visit
- Nurses can offer "expanded office hours" for added patient convenience (weekends and evenings are available)
- Administer drug properly and spare patients from anxiety associated with injection
- Assess patient condition and report change in disease status and/or comorbidities to physician
- Nurses are specially trained on both acromegaly and Sandostatin® LAR Depot
- Nurses can offer "expanded office hours" for added patient convenience (weekends and evenings are available)
- After each injection, nurse completes a report and sends to the physician
Who Is Eligible?
The Sandostatin® LAR Depot Nurse Home Injection Program is available to all eligible acromegaly patients for whom Sandostatin® LAR Depot has been prescribed.
What you need to know:
- Program is available to patients covered by commercial plans (eg, HMO, PPO, etc)
- Patients with government-provided medical insurance (eg, Medicare Part B and D, or Medicaid) are not covered at this time
- Patients who reside in Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, or Rhode Island are not eligible for the Program
- Physician's office can confirm patient eligibility by calling the hotline number
Starting is simple:
- Physician fills out enrollment form, requests patient consent, and faxes to BioScrip®
- Patients must receive first dose of Sandostatin® LAR Depot in the physician's office
- A Frequently Asked Questions booklet is available that contains additional insights into the Program as well as a set of eligibility screening cards (so that the patient can call BioScrip®), and an enrollment form
Important Safety Information
Carcinoid Syndrome:
Sandostatin® LAR Depot (octreotide acetate for injectable suspension) is indicated for long-term treatment of the severe diarrhea and flushing episodes associated with metastatic carcinoid tumors and for the long-term treatment of the profuse watery diarrhea associated with VIP-secreting tumors in patients in whom initial treatment with immediate release Sandostatin® (octreotide acetate) Injection has been shown to be effective and tolerated.
Important Safety Information:
As with immediate release Sandostatin® Injection, the most frequently reported drug-related adverse events were biliary disorders (62%), gastrointestinal disorders (14% to 38%), and injection-site pain (20% to 50%). Hypoglycemia (4%), hyperglycemia (27%), sinus bradycardia (19%), conduction abnormalities (9%), and arrhythmias (3%) have been reported.
The controlled clinical trials that support the marketing clearance for Sandostatin® LAR Depot did not include determination of effect on tumor size or rate of growth. Sandostatin® LAR Depot is not indicated for tumor shrinkage.
Acromegaly
Sandostatin® LAR Depot (octreotide acetate for injectable suspension) is indicated for long-term maintenance therapy in acromegalic patients who have had an inadequate response to surgery and/or radiotherapy, or for whom surgery and/or radiotherapy is not an option. The goal of treatment in acromegaly is to reduce GH and IGF-1 levels to normal.
Important Safety Information:
As with immediate release Sandostatin® Injection, the most frequently reported drug-related adverse events were biliary disorders (52%), gastrointestinal disorders (7% to 36%), and injection-site pain (2% to 11%). Hypoglycemia (2%), hyperglycemia (15%), and hypothyroidism (2%) have been reported. While not measured in acromegalic patients receiving Sandostatin® LAR Depot, ECG changes have been reported in patients receiving immediate release Sandostatin® Injection; the degree to which these abnormalities are related to octreotide acetate is not clear, as many acromegalics have cardiovascular disease. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
