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KEn Becker wrote: > If you see a patient walking down the street > with the IV bag and tubing still attached to his arm, so insurance doesn't > have to pay for another day, try not to laugh I had an experience almost like that at Kaiser last year, and was very pleased with it. Briefly, I walked into the emergency room with a small dermal cyst that mysteriously became an open abcess. They literally sprang into action and rushed me to their Home Infusion Center, where a very competent nurse carefully instructed me on what to do. They put a needle in an arm vein, with a short plastic tube carefully taped in place, and a kit of syringes with a potent antibiotic, to use and discard. I don't recall for sure, I think it was three per day for a week. First saline, to prevent a clot from blocking the needle, then the cephalosporin. The reason for their quick response is that occasionaly the germ (which turned out to be ordinary staph) is the "flesh-eating bacteria" that you may have read about, very dangerous. But instead of a week supine in a hospital bed, I was able to go home and continue routine activity, with no discomfort or inconvenience (except for the odd bandage on one wrist). So Kaiser (and Medicare) saved some money, and I was spared a week in the hospital. No complaint. Cheers, Joe -- J. R. Bruman (818) 789-3694 3527 Cody Road Sherman Oaks, CA 91403-5013