Infusion Center: Processes
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What are the Infusion Center turnaround times?
Before each visit to the Infusion Center, you will have lab work done to make sure your blood counts are within an acceptable range to receive chemotherapy. With the hospital’s new Electronic Health Records (EHR) system, lab results are automatically delivered to the Infusion Center in real time. This expedites the process.
In addition, since the Pharmacy Department is adjacent to the Infusion Center, your wait time is minimal. “All of the chemotherapy is mixed by the Pharmacy. And the Pharmacy is right next to us, so everything gets handed to us through the window, which is nice because we have direct communication. That really helps the turnaround time for patients,” says Rudzinski.
The average time it takes from the time you walk in the door to Eastern’s Infusion Center, sign in, get seated in a chair, have your vital signs taken, get something to drink, and begin your pre-medications is eight minutes.
What safety protocols does the Infusion Center follow?
Administration of chemotherapy requires strict safety protocols. The Infusion Center at Eastern abides by the Oncology Nursing Society guidelines for administering chemotherapy. In addition, every nurse on the team has had appropriate training in handling chemotherapy agents.
The infusion team also double checks every detail of your treatment. You will have two different nurses assigned to you at all times. Your nurses will double check your arm band, your oncologist’s chemotherapy orders, and any other important aspects of your care.