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Dedicated Case Managers

Focused Support for You and Your Patients

For some families, reimbursement and insurance coverage are among the most challenging aspects of growth hormone therapy.

NordiCare® serves you, your patients, and their cargivers with comprehensive case management services, including reimbursement and insurance assistance that start the moment you prescribe Norditropin® and refer the patient to NordiCare®.

NordiCare® case managers communicate consistently with you. They take note of your personal communication preferences and strive to offer the highest level of accessibility and service.

Providing Personalized Services
 

NordiCare® offers a trained staff to assist with:
•  Patient enrollment
•  Search for reimbursement sources
•  Prior authorization/SMN form processing
•  The JumpStartTM program
•  Patient Access ProgramSM
•  Appeals
•  Patient starter kit delivery
•  Patient training coordination
•  Reauthorizations

Reach your NordiCare® team from 8 AM-8 PM EST by calling 1-888-NOVO-444 or faxing 1-888-508-8200. Pharmacy support is available at all times.

The Novo Nordisk Promise

Novo Nordisk is committed to making Norditropin® available to patients who need it.  While it can be challenging to obtain reimbursement for some medications, a family’s ability to pay should not determine whether a patient receives the therapy he or she needs. 

During the reimbursement process, NordiCare® stands ready to provide up to 2 months’ supply of Norditropin® (called the JumpStartTM program) for appropriate patients. 

In the event that insurance benefits do not provide coverage for Norditropin® therapy, the NordiCare® staff is skilled in researching alternative sources of financial support. 

If appropriate, they will also evaluate whether the patient qualifies for the Norditropin® Patient Access ProgramSM, part of our commitment to the patients we serve.

NordiCare® Case Manager contact information should be entered in each patient’s folder.


Insurance reimbursement starts with the prescription
•  Once Norditropin® is prescribed, the following should be submitted by your office to the patient's personal NordiCare® Case Manager:
-  Statement of Medical Necessity
-  Recent growth chart (if applicable)
-  Medical information to support diagnosis
-  Any available insurance information
•  Patients will be assigned a NordiCare® Case Manager to handle their individual cases
•  This personal representative will get in touch with the patient, parent or caregiver to:
-  Collect all additional insurance information needed for filing a claim with the insurance company
-  Respond to reimbursement or insurance questions and concerns
•  Next, the NordiCare® Case Manager will verify the patient's coverage with the insurance company and will request prior authorization for dispensing Norditropin®
•  Once the NordiCare® Case Manager determines that insurance is adequate, the claim will be precertified
•  The NordiCare® Case Manager will then contact the parent, patient or caregiver to determine the start date of therapy, as well as to talk about insurance benefits and payment options
•  If the NordiCare® Case Manager finds that insurance benefits do not provide for therapy with Norditropin®, he or she will start seeking other sources of coverage
•  To help patients and their families during this period, NordiCare® may provide a no-charge, interim supply of Norditropin®, called JumpStart®
•  The NordiCare® Case Manager may also submit a request to the patient's insurance company to expand coverage so that reimbursement of Norditropin® is included

If the NordiCare® Case Manager is unable to find insurance resources that will cover treatment costs, a determination of eligibility will be conducted for the NordiCare® Patient Access Program.

NordiCare® Case Manager contact information may be entered in each patient's folder.


Norditropin® Indications and Usage

Norditropin® (somatropin [rDNA origin] injection) is indicated for the treatment of children with growth failure due to inadequate secretion of endogenous growth hormone, the treatment of children with short stature associated with Noonan syndrome and Turner syndrome, the treatment of children with short stature born small for gestational age (SGA) with no catch-up growth by age 2-4 years, and for the replacement of endogenous growth hormone in adults with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) who meet either of the following two criteria: 1. Adult Onset: Patients who have GHD, either alone or associated with multiple hormone deficiencies (hypopituitarism), as a result of pituitary disease, hypothalamic disease, surgery, radiation therapy, or trauma; or 2. Childhood Onset: Patients who were growth hormone deficient during childhood as a result of congenital, genetic, acquired, or idiopathic causes.

Important Safety Information

Somatropin should not be used for growth promotion in pediatric patients with closed epiphyses or in patients with active proliferative or severe non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Norditropin should not be used in patients with known hypersensitivity to somatropin or any of its excipients.

Somatropin should not be used or should be discontinued with any evidence of active malignancy. Patients with preexisting malignancy should be monitored carefully for any progression or reoccurrence.

Somatropin should not be used to treat patients with acute critical illness due to complications following open heart or abdominal surgery, multiple accidental trauma or acute respiratory failure as increased mortality may occur.

Somatropin is contraindicated in patients with Prader-Willi syndrome who are severely obese, have a history of upper airway obstruction or sleep apnea, or have severe respiratory impairment. There have been reports of sudden death when somatropin was used in such patients. Norditropin® is not indicated for the treatment of patients who have growth failure due to genetically confirmed Prader-Willi syndrome.

Blood glucose levels should be monitored periodically as treatment with somatropin may decrease insulin sensitivity. Patients with preexisting diabetes or glucose intolerance should be monitored closely during somatropin therapy. Doses of insulin or oral agents may need to be adjusted for patients with diabetes on somatropin therapy.

Intracranial hypertension (IH) with papilledema, visual changes, headache, nausea and/or vomiting has been reported in a small number of patients treated with somatropin products. Symptoms usually occurred within the first eight (8) weeks after initiation of somatropin therapy and generally resolve after cessation of therapy or a reduction of the somatropin dose. Funduscopic examination should be performed routinely before initiating and periodically during the course of somatropin therapy. If papilledema is observed by funduscopy during somatropin treatment, treatment should be discontinued.

Pediatric patients may develop slipped capital femoral epiphyses more frequently if they have endocrine disorders or during rapid growth. Any child having onset of a limp or complaints of hip or knee pain during somatropin therapy should be carefully evaluated. Progression of scoliosis can occur in patients who experience rapid growth. Somatropin has not been shown to increase the occurrence of scoliosis.

In patients with GHD, central (secondary) hypothyroidism may first become evident or worsen during somatropin treatment. Patients treated with somatropin should therefore have periodic thyroid function tests and thyroid hormone replacement therapy should be initiated or adjusted as needed.

Patients with Turner Syndrome should be evaluated carefully for otitis media and other ear disorders since these patients have an increased risk of ear and hearing disorders. Somatropin treatment may increase the occurrence of otitis media in patients with Turner syndrome. In addition, patients with Turner syndrome should be monitored closely for cardiovascular disorders (e.g., stroke, aortic aneurysm/dissection, hypertension) as these patients are also at risk for these conditions.

Although from a clinical study in Noonan syndrome there was no evidence of somatropin-induced ventricular hypertrophy or exacerbation of preexisting ventricular hypertrophy (as judged by echocardiography), the safety of Norditropin® in children with Noonan syndrome and significant cardiac disease is not known.

Somatropin inhibits 11ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11ßHSD-1) in adipose/hepatic tissue, and may significantly impact the metabolism of cortisol and cortisone. In patients treated with somatropin, previously undiagnosed central (secondary) hypoadrenalism may be unmasked requiring glucocorticoid replacement therapy. In addition, patients treated with glucocorticoid replacement therapy especially with cortisone acetate and prednisone for previously diagnosed hypoadrenalism may require an increase in their maintenance or stress doses.

Careful monitoring is advisable when somatropin is administered in combination with other drugs known to be metabolized by CP450 liver enzymes (e.g., corticosteroids, sex steroids, anticonvulsants, cyclosporine) or other hormone replacement therapy.

The safety and effectiveness of Norditropin® in patients age 65 years and older has not been evaluated in clinical studies. Elderly patients may be more sensitive to the actions of somatropin and may be more prone to develop adverse reactions.

Common somatropin-related adverse reactions include injection site reactions/rashes, lipoatrophy and headaches, glucose intolerance, fluid retention and unmasking of latent central hypothyroidism.

Most serious adverse reactions reported for somatropin include intracranial hypertension, diabetic retinopathy, glucose intolerance, slipped capital femoral epiphysis, progression of preexisting scoliosis, sudden death in pediatric patients with Prader-Willi syndrome with risk factors including severe obesity, history of upper airway obstruction or sleep apnea and unidentified respiratory infection, and intracranial tumors as a 2nd tumor in patients who had been treated for a 1st neoplasm.

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