Table 2.
Perceived advantages and disadvantages of intravenous therapy
| All patients (n=405) |
|
|---|---|
| Perceived advantage, n (%) | |
| Staff at infusion center can monitor for side effects | 398 (98.3) |
| The medication is administered by a professional | 397 (98.0) |
| Infusion center visits act as an additional assessment to a regular doctor visit | 369 (91.1) |
| Infusion center staff keep track of the patient’s dosing regimen | 362 (89.4) |
| Emotional support is provided by infusion center staff | 327 (80.7) |
| Center staff can check medical issues beyond the autoimmune disease for which the biologic is being received | 314 (77.5) |
| Learning from the experiences of other patients attending the infusion center | 228 (56.3) |
| Social interaction with other patients at the infusion center | 224 (55.3) |
| Infusion center visits can complement activities such as shopping or dining out | 221 (54.6) |
| Travel time to the infusion center can be spent with family/friends | 87 (21.5) |
| Perceived disadvantage, n (%) | |
| The infusion takes too long | 165 (40.7) |
| Scheduling appointments is inconvenient | 92 (22.7) |
| Travel to the infusion center is inconvenient | 78 (19.3) |
| Infusion side effects/reactions | 52 (12.8) |
| Multiple attempts may be required to start infusion; veins may be difficult to find | 51 (12.6) |
| Cost of infusion (including co-insurance or co-payment costs) | 34 (8.4) |
| Infusion is painful | 30 (7.4) |
| Sight of needles during infusion | 28 (6.9) |
| No disadvantage | 65 (16.0) |