In prepping a JW patient for heart surgery, our heart surgeon wants the patient's Hgb to be 15. She is at 11.9. However, she is a Medicare patient, and she cannot afford the drug. Procritline denies any reimbursement until after the surgery as this is a heart surgery and is not an indication. Even to get her so she is not anemic (13 or higher) would be helpful.
I do know that Procrit has been used successfully in heart patients.

Questions:

(1) Any suggestions on what can be done for this patient?

(2) Has anyone successfully dealt with Procritline?

Please respond to my email address: darryl.gucwa@tenethealth.com.
Thank you.