From Nurse to Legal Advocate: How Tiffany Scheppers Champions Patients Through Their Medical Journeys

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Working on the floor as an RN heightened Tiffany Scheppers’ awareness of patient needs while providing her a unique perspective on how healthcare operates and the nuances of insurance. With St. Louis University’s well-regarded healthcare law program right in her backyard, she decided to earn a law degree. “I believed I could do a lot more in the way of patient advocacy from a law perspective,” says Scheppers, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at InfuCare Rx. “I really felt compelled to serve patients and their families in a different way,” says Scheppers. “My nursing experience really gave me a unique perspective.”

Scheppers’ frontline nursing experience, coupled with her general knowledge of the business of the healthcare industry, informs the legal advice she offers to InfuCare Rx’s executives. “I understand where we are at any point in the process,” says Scheppers. Years of experience provide her the agency to confidently dispense unconventional legal advice before taking a more traditional approach. “In a situation where I understand what’s going on from a clinical perspective, we might have two or three different options to service a patient,” says Scheppers.

Every patient is on a journey, Scheppers explains. Her role is to carefully consider their struggles before making a legal decision. “It helps me to know where the patient is along their journey. Clinical standards need to be met, and if the patient is refusing to meet them, then we must work with the physician to either discontinue the patient relationship or get the patient back on therapy,” says Scheppers. Empathy is top of mind as she works with the involved clinicians at InfuCare Rx to decide whether to continue therapy.

InfuCare Rx—a data-driven nationwide specialty infusion therapy provider licensed in all fifty states, Washington, DC, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Mariana Islands—was one of the first pharmacy companies in the US to revolutionize the delivery of infusion services, consolidating intake personnel, billing, and nurse case managers into one centralized location. A nurse case manager at InfuCare Rx follows the patient through their entire healthcare journey. “Someone is available twenty-four seven via our nurse line, so the patient always has that one person as a touchstone throughout any treatment process with us. They can call and get any questions answered,” says Scheppers. Their internalized, streamlined, and centralized model allows high-touch service to its patients, many of whom are suffering from chronic, debilitating diseases.

InfuCare Rx has grown exponentially over the past several years, a fact that makes Scheppers swell with pride. That growth was the result of its quality care, word of mouth, and timely acquisitions. Throughout those acquisitions, Scheppers advised InfuCare Rx executives from a compliance and regulatory perspective. Again, drawing on her experience as an RN, she advised the sales team on how to approach physicians and patients. “We are active in the communities that we serve. From the actual acquisition or growth perspective in terms of bringing in an equity partner, I play a significant role and lead mergers and acquisitions,” says Scheppers.

InfuCare Rx has managed to grow without losing sight of the patient, its top priority. “Our patients remain at the center of everything we do. We value our partnerships with physicians and are committed to providing each patient with timely, exceptional care and service throughout their treatment,” says Scheppers.

Sitting at the executive level and reporting to the CEO, Scheppers views her team as both a legal group and an executive leadership group. “There’s no ‘I succeed and you fail.’ If we succeed as a team, we fail as a team,” says Scheppers. She cultivates a team whose members are challenged, satisfied, and engaged, who demonstrate a firm commitment to the company and its patients. She encourages team members to listen to alternate perspectives, whether from team members, the company, employees, or patients. “We’re always listening and adapting; there’s no one person who always gets it their way,” says Scheppers.

Both Scheppers and InfuCare Rx engage in community growth and outreach, such as offering workshops and group meetings, and she urges team members to continue their education and stay up to date on legal topics to work more efficiently. “I always promote to my team that every year they have at least a few personal or professional development goals,” says Scheppers. In addition, she encourages her team to take part in one volunteer opportunity as a group. “We believe that giving back to charities is important,” says Scheppers.

Last January, Scheppers began teaching in the University of South Carolina’s master’s program on compliance, and she’s interested in partnering with the school to develop internship programs. Her time as an adjunct professor has contributed to her professional growth and to the growth of her students. “It’s remarkable how teaching becomes a two-way exchange — I learn just as much from my students as they do from me.

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