Immunotherapy delivered at home

Patients with lung cancer who are receiving immunotherapy through IV may be able to receive parts of their treatment at home. The Netherlands Cancer Institute is running a pilot program "shared care" in which patients can decide to receive every other treatment at home and the other half at the hospital. This allows patients to receive their treatment in a safe home environment, and saves travel time to the Netherlands Cancer Institute for every single treatment.

on the day of the immunotherapy treatment at home, a trained health care professional will visit the patient to deliver immunotherapy that was prepared at the Netherlands Cancer Institute. The quality and safety standards of this treatment from home are the same that are required of treatment at the hospital itself. 

If patients prefer receiving their treatment at home and the pilot turns out to be successful, more patients at the Netherlands Cancer Institute will be given the choice to receive their treatment from home, and other hospitals can add this treatment type to their care. 

The pilot will take four months and is available to patients living in the greater region of Amsterdam. The Netherlands Cancer Institute collaborates with Eurocept Homecare to run this pilot. This national organization offers personalized hospital care at home from specialized health care professionals using special IV technology. 

Another collaborator in this pilot is health care provider Zilveren Kruis. The health care provider is interested in the possibilities of care from home, patient experiences, and the benefits to their quality of life. This means that only patients insured at Zilveren Kruis can currently take part in this pilot program. The pilot has been established in collaboration with pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb.