Outside Medical Facilities Home Administration
ÎIn rare and exceptional cases when allergen immunotherapy cannot be administered in a medical facility and withholding this therapy would result in a serious detriment to the patient's health (eg, VIT for a patient living in a remote area), careful consideration of potential benefits and risks of at-home administration of allergen immunotherapy should be made on an individual basis. If this approach is used, informed consent should be obtained from the patient, and the person administering the injection to the patient must be educated about how to administer immunotherapy and recognize and treat anaphylaxis. (D)
Transferring Allergen Immunotherapy Care
ÎIf a patient receiving immunotherapy transfers from one physician to another, a decision must be made by the physician to whom the patient has transferred as to whether to continue immunotherapy. (D)
ÎIf immunotherapy is continued, a decision must then be made about whether to continue unchanged the immunotherapy program initiated by the previous physician or to start a new immunotherapy program. Patients can continue to receive the immunotherapy extract prepared by the patient's previous physician if this is acceptable to the transferring and accepting physicians. (D)
ÎA detailed documentation of the patient's schedule and allergen extract content must accompany a patient when he or she transfers responsibility for immunotherapy care from one physician to another. In addition, a record of previous response to and compliance with this program should be communicated to the patient's new physician. (D)
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