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 Dacogen?
Dacogen (generic name: decitabine), is an intravenous drug used to treat myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). These conditions are specific types of blood and bone marrow malignancies that prevent the body from making enough healthy cells.
Decitabine interferes with the replication of cancer cells so that healthy cells can proliferate. The treatment goals with this medication include:
- Increasing the level of healthy blood cells in the body
- Reducing the risk of bleeding
- Making the need for blood transfusions less likely
In some circumstances, doctors may prescribe this drug to treat anemia. It is also sometimes used for other conditions.
How Does Dacogen Work?
Decitabine, a DNA-demethylating substance, controls gene expression in cells to slow the growth of cancer. The drug helps the body’s natural tumor suppressors regain control of cell proliferation.
Decitabine is an antimetabolite that battles cancer and eliminates cancer cells. Leukemia, ovarian, and intestinal malignancies have all been treated with antimetabolite medications for many years. They work to stop the spread of cancer cells by preventing cancer cells from duplicating and dividing, which results in cell death.
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
Directions for Use
Decitabine is an infusion drug injected directly into a vein by a medical professional. It is given in an outpatient setting so patients can go home once their treatment is over. However, sometimes hospitalized patients receive the drug. Patients usually take the injections every 8 hours over 3 days, repeating every 6 weeks. Most people need at least four treatment cycles, depending on how the body tolerates and responds to the drug.
Some patients may receive the drug over a 5-day cycle rather than a 3-day cycle. This schedule involves 1-hour intravenous infusions given daily over 5 days. The cycle repeats every 4 weeks for at least four cycles as long as the patient tolerates the treatment well.
Regular blood tests are required to monitor how the patient’s body responds to the treatment. Patients who miss a treatment appointment should consult the prescribing physician for guidance.
Dacogen Side Effects
Decitabine does have some side effects, which include:
- Nausea and vomiting
- Weakened immune system
- Bruising and bleeding more easily than usual
- Allergic reactions such as difficulty breathing, facial swelling, or hives
- Pale skin
- Flu-like symptoms such as sore throat, fever, and chills
- Cold feet or hands
- Coughing, shortness of breath, or pain in the chest
- Sores on the skin, in the mouth, or on the gums
Medical providers often give other drugs in combination with decitabine to fight some of these side effects, particularly nausea and vomiting. Doctors will also monitor patients closely while they are taking decitabine treatments due to the impact on the immune system.
Patients who experience these side effects should report them to their medical care providers. The list of potential side effects is not exhaustive, so patients should routinely consult their doctors about any symptoms that stand out.
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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