How Assistance Works
Streamlining our patient’s specialty pharmacy experience with unmatched full-service convenience
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1. Check Your Coverage/Benefits Verification
Our team of expert billers finds the best avenues of coverage that minimize out-of-pocket costs.
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2. Transfer Prescription to AmeriPharma™
We process your prescription by working with your previous pharmacy or prescriber, making the transition quick and easy.
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3. Prior Authorization
Our team of specialists obtains approval from your insurance companies within 24 to 72 hours.
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4. Copay Assistance & Financial Aid
We secure financial aid and decrease copays, out-of-pocket expenses, and high deductibles. To date, AmeriPharma™ Specialty Care has secured $55 million in financial assistance for our patients.
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5. Nursing Care Coordination
AmeriPharma™ puts your schedule and home environment first when scheduling and coordinating one of our specialized nurses for your in-home infusions.
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6. Delivery Coordination
Medications are always delivered in strict compliance with the specific requirements for shipping. Next-day and overnight cold-chain deliveries are coordinated around your schedule.
What Is Austedo?
Austedo is the brand name for deutetrabenazine, an oral medication used to decrease uncontrollable muscle movements that occur as a symptom of an underlying condition.
Deutetrabenazine is available in tablet form and is taken orally.
There is a risk of side effects when taking deutetrabenazine, but if your doctor prescribes it to you, it is because he or she believes that the benefits of taking it outweigh the risks.
What Is Austedo Used To Treat?
Deutetrabenazine is used to treat involuntary muscle movements resulting from one of two conditions: Huntington’s disease and tardive dyskinesia (TD).
Huntington’s disease is a rare inherited genetic disorder that attacks the nerve cells in the brain, causing them to break down over time. This can cause involuntary, unpredictable, sometimes dance-like movements of the arms and legs, known collectively as chorea. These movements can affect your gait (i.e., the way you walk), as well as your posture, making it more difficult for you to sit or stand up straight.
Neuroleptic drugs, including some used to treat psychiatric disorders, affect the level of chemicals in your brain, blocking the receptors that these chemicals attach to. These chemicals are known as neurotransmitters and decreased levels can help control mental disorders and affect motor functions.
Tardive dyskinesia presents due to excess dopamine and causes involuntary body movements of the face, arms, and legs. Deutetrabenazine is believed to help control involuntary muscle movements by maintaining a balance of dopamine in the brain.
Copay and Financial Assistance
AmeriPharma™ Specialty Care alleviates financial burdens for patients and their families
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Advanced software locates funding sources to match you with top-dollar foundation programs
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One of our copay assistance specialists will assist with the application process
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Automatic updates will be sent to you and your physician on the status of the funding
Austedo Directions for Use
There are some contraindications for the use of deutetrabenazine. It can cause serious heart problems and new or worsening depression. If you have Huntington’s disease, you are already at higher risk for depression and suicidal thoughts, so this is something to discuss with your doctor.
Deutetrabenazine is available in tablets of 6 mg, 9 mg, and 12 mg. Your doctor will typically start you on a low dose and then gradually increase the dosage weekly until you see improvement in your symptoms. If you stop taking it for more than a week, talk to your doctor before resuming. You may have to restart at a lower dosage again.
Deutetrabenazine is taken twice daily with food. Swallow each tablet whole; do not break, crush, or chew. Because deutetrabenazine can cause dizziness or drowsiness, avoid driving, operating machinery, or doing anything that requires mental alertness until you know how the medication affects you.
Do not double up on your medication if you miss a dose. Either take the dose as soon as you remember or, if it is close to the time of your next dose, skip the dose you missed and take the next one as scheduled.
Be sure to inform your doctor of all medications you are taking. Deutetrabenazine can react with other medications, such as MAO inhibitors, reserpine, tetrabenazine, and valbenazine. If you have taken similar medications recently, you may have to wait before you can start on deutetrabenazine.
Austedo Side Effects
Side effects vary depending on the indication for use.
Patients with Huntington’s disease may experience:
- Diarrhea
- Drowsiness
- Dry mouth
- Fatigue
- Depression
Patients with tardive dyskinesia may experience:
- Inflammation of the nose and throat
- Congestion
- Insomnia
- Drowsiness
Deutetrabenazine can also cause severe side effects:
- Suicidal thoughts and actions
- Irregular heartbeat
- Neuroleptic malignant syndrome (fever, stiff muscles, increased sweating, problems thinking)
- Parkinson’s symptoms (slow movements, stiff muscles, resting tremors, lack of balance)
Insurances Accepted
We accept Medicare, multi-state Medicaid, Medi-Cal, Blue Shield, and most private insurances. Call us to find out more about your coverage.
Get Started in Minutes
Fill out your information and one of our specialists will call you ASAP.
How Much Can You Save?
Speak with a copay assistance specialist
(877) 778-0318
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