By Healthcare Facilities Today

Schnucks, a Midwest supermarket chain, opened its first Schnucks Infusion Solutions facility in St Louis this fall to treat acute and chronic conditions.

At the 6,500-square-foot center, nurses, pharmacists and technicians prepare infusions and administer them either in the patients’ homes or in the facility’s ambulatory infusion center, according to an article on the St Louis Post Dispatch.

In the article, Michael Abrams, managing partner at a St. Louis health care consulting firm said infusion centers are profitable because they administer expensive treatments. They’re also attractive to consumers and insurance companies because they provide outpatient care and are more cost-effective than visiting a hospital.

Dr. David Parks, an internal medicine specialist who sees a lot of HIV patients, said he used to dislike prescribing IV medications because it meant hospital admissions. Not only was that more expensive, but Medicare patients were required to stay at long-term facilities during their treatments.

The ambulatory infusion center provides comfort, too, the article said. Treatments can take up to eight hours, so patients are provided with a cozy room, free Internet, a flat-screen TV with cable and a snack bar.

And only three infusion chairs occupy the room. Many hospitals have up to 50 chairs for infusion services in their chemotherapy or dialysis clinics.

Read the article.