Archive: February 2007
New Yorkers have higher diabetes rate
February 28, 2007HME News Staff
NEW YORK - Nearly 4% of New Yorkers have diabetes and don't know it, according to a report released Jan. 30 by the New York City Health Department. The city's first-ever Health and Nutrition Examination Survey stated that more than 100,000 New York City adults are at risk for heart attack, blindness, amputation or other health complications caused by diabetes. Approximately 12.5% of residents have diabetes, yet one-third of them, or 207,000 people, don't know it.
Wheelchair usersues United Airlines
February 28, 2007HME News Staff
CHICAGO - A Highland Park, Ill., disabled man has sued United Airlines for failing to provide him with a wheelchair after deplaning at Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport. Tommie Rodgers, who suffers from physical disabilities that require use of a wheelchair, filed a complaint in the Circuit Court of Cook County in November. The court plans to hear his case this month. Rodgers alleges that United breached its duty of care by failing to provide him with a wheelchair within a reasonable time...
Associations host teleconferences
February 28, 2007HME News Staff
For the first time, all the state associations in Jurisdiction A have teamed up to host a series of teleconferences aimed at walking providers through what they call the "accreditation maze."
The six-week series kicked off Feb. 1 with a run-down on accreditation. It then featured an overview of five of the accrediting organizations that have been approved by CMS to survey providers as part of its national competitive bidding program.
The March 1 and March 8 teleconferences will feature overviews...
AAH: Keep paying for levalbuterol
February 28, 2007HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - Inhalation drugs play a critical role in the management of COPD, and Medicare must ensure coverage of these drugs with a national coverage determination, says AAHomecare.
CMS initiated a review Dec. 20 on the use of nebulized beta agonists--primarily albuterol and levalbuterol--in the treatment of COPD. The public comment period closed Jan. 19 and CMS is expected to announce a decision this summer.
In comments submitted to CMS Jan. 19, AAHomecare stated that:
* While it may be argued...
Don't be a dodo
February 28, 2007HME News Staff
In late January and early February, I spent a week driving around California visiting with HME providers and manufacturers. Somewhere on a freeway in or near Los Angeles, I had an epiphany (fortunately, I wasn't driving): As a person or a company, you ignore technology at your own peril. You either evolve with technology, or you get left behind.
I suppose I always knew this, but the brave new world that is Los Angeles--massive six-lane freeways, unmitigated growth, ethnic diversity, movie stars...
Finance
February 28, 2007HME News Staff
Q. What is management through focused measurements, and how will it help me improve how I run my company?
A. Focused measurements provide the information that managers need to ensure that the organization is on the right track. HME providers should develop focused reporting in two important areas. They are cash management and EBITDA. Cash measurements indicate the status of the company's balance sheet accounts. EBITDA reflects the revenue and expense accounts used to calculate profit and loss. Each...
Don't ignore diabetes educators
February 28, 2007HME News Staff
Nearly every day, the staff of Bright Plaza Pharmacy and HME in Whittier, Calif., gets face time with one of their top referral sources--the team of diabetes educators who work in the physicians' offices upstairs.
"It's a huge win-win for both of us," said Micki Spencer, who oversees the diabetes education program for Bright Medical Associates. "We're down there (at the HME) almost every single day with a patient or to ask a question."
For an HME that carries diabetic supplies, which patients must...
Patient's family sues over power cutoff
February 28, 2007HME News Staff
INDIANAPOLIS - The family of an Indiana woman with COPD is suing Indianapolis Power & Light for causing her death when the company shut off her power for nonpayment. Sonya Abromson, 57, who died July 6, 2006, managed to call 911 but didn't have enough breath left to complete the call, according to her family. When paramedics arrived 13 minutes later, they found her unconscious. The lawsuit contends that Abromson did not receive proper notice of the shut-off and claims that IPL knew Abromson was on...
'Find someone you can steal'
February 28, 2007HME News Staff
Hiring competent employees to staff their billing departments has providers like Joel Holland at wit's end.
For some time now, Holland, president of Holland Medical in Nashville, Tenn., has sought to hire three employees to round out his 10-person billing department. He has paid for newspaper and online help wanted ads, contacted personnel agencies, and even asked his employees to look at their family members and friends as potential leads. Still, no luck.
"It seems like every time (we have an opening),...
NHIA hires new executive director
February 28, 2007HME News Staff
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The National Home Infusion Association hired Russell Bodoff as its new executive director in Janaury. Bodoff most recently worked for the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging as vice president of technology and business development. He has worked with healthcare providers, universities, Congress and the media to recognize and develop solutions to deal with the country's growing healthcare crisis. "I have been a strong advocate of moving more health care into...