Archive: March 2007
FDA approves Respironics product for complex apnea
March 31, 2007HME News Staff
MURRYSVILLE, Pa. - ResMed is no longer the only company to have an FDA approved product--VPAP Adapt SV--for the treatment of complex sleep apnea. In early March, the FDA granted 510(k) clearance for Respironics BiPAP autoSV device to be used for that same purpose. Patients with complex sleep apnea exhibit OSA but demonstrate persistent central sleep apnea. Until recently, doctors have treated patients with central sleep apnea, usually unsatisfactorily, with bilevel devices, which are intended primarily...
New BP cuff wraps up bariatric market
March 31, 2007HME News Staff
MILPITAS, Calif. - A&D Medical plans to jump into the bariatric market this month or next with a first-of-its-kind product: a specialty blood pressure monitor with a 26.6-inch arm cuff.
In addition to the cuff, the unit's monitor comes with a high performance motor that can inflate the giant cuff at a comfortable rate, said Sarah Schiltz, A&D's director of medical marketing. Inflating a cuff this size with a motor for a standard cuff--the largest run about 18 inches--would be like using a bicycle...
Round 2: Industry vs. Bush
March 31, 2007HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - Industry stakeholders recently kicked off their campaign to defeat President Bush's proposal to eliminate the first-month purchase option for power wheelchairs.
NCART, NRRTS and other stakeholders submitted testimony to the Ways and Means Committee Feb. 22 arguing that the proposal, part of Bush's 2008 budget, would decrease access to appropriate power wheelchairs. If providers have to rent out the equipment and wait 13 months for reimbursement, they'll be forced to provide generic equipment...
Infusion provider goes high tech
March 31, 2007HME News Staff
PENSACOLA, Fla. - After a two-year stint in cramped hospital quarters, Sacred Heart Home Care IV Infusion Pharmacy moved into a state-of-the-art facility in February.
The new 1,600-square-foot pharmacy meets the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) 797 safety standards, with a clean room for compounding respiratory medications, TPNs and other customized preparations. Additionally, there is a negative pressure room for mixing chemotherapy drugs.
After Hurricane Ivan displaced Sacred Heart in 2004, the...
PAMS on prowl for new exec director
March 31, 2007HME News Staff
MECHANICSBURG, Pa. - The Pennsylvania Association of Medical Suppliers (PAMS) plans to have a new executive director riding herd at its offices, here, beginning in early April.
Dave Fiorini, who headed up PAMS for nearly three years, left the association March 2 for personal reasons. PAMS planned to conduct interviews in March and replace Fiorini this month, according to President Georgie Blackburn.
"Dave is well liked, and he has been a good ambassador for the association and the industry," she...
Former O2 provider has few misgivings
March 31, 2007HME News Staff
PEORIA, Ill. - Ken Humphrey, president of Advanced Medical Homecare, hasn't supplied oxygen concentrators for more than two years, and while he misses taking care of respiratory patients, he doesn't miss getting up in the middle of the night to repair broken equipment. Add a 36-month cap on Medicare reimbursement to the mix, and Humphrey has spent much of the past year patting himself on the back.
"I feel like I was playing in the stock market, and I sold at the right time," Humphrey said recently....
Get your NCB ducks in a row, Lieber advises
March 31, 2007HME News Staff
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - If the number of questions asked during AAHomecare's Feb. 15 teleconference on national competitive bidding is any indication, providers aren't ready to talk about the nitty-gritty of how to participate in NCB, which CMS plans to kick off later this year.
Only one of 50-plus listeners asked a question during "Ready or Not, Here it Comes--Competitive Bidding is Just Round the Corner." The teleconference comprised a nearly 90-minute presentation by consultant Miriam Lieber and a brief...
Shoprider seeks battery code
March 31, 2007HME News Staff
CARSON, Calif. - A couple pieces of news trickled out of Shoprider in late February that should be of interest to HME providers.
First, for those who have lobbied the company to develop at $500 power wheelchair to offset cuts in Medicare reimbursement, the answer is no, said President David Lin.
"We just can't make a toy (wheelchair) and sell it," he said. "This is not a toy. It's a medical device. We are liable."
Secondly, company execs have their fingers crossed that Medicare will grant Shoprider's...
Provider: Compliance costs us accounts
March 31, 2007HME News Staff
Playing by the rules for manual wheelchairs, walkers and canes has cost Brian Brice, an outside sales representative for Jeff's Surgical, at least 10 accounts, he says.
To provide the equipment, Brice tells physicians and therapists that Jeff's Surgical needs chart notes, ideally ones that show they have followed the required algorithm for determining medical necessity. He reminds them that the algorithm, part of a national coverage decision (NCD) released almost two years ago, applies not only to...
M.D.'s research probes apnea causes
March 31, 2007HME News Staff
Do genetics play a role in determining who is prone to obstructive sleep apnea? And is the severity of OSA linked to certain physiological traits?
These are among two of the key questions sleep specialist Dr. Charles Atwood is trying to find out in his ongoing research.
Atwood, associate professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh's division of pulmonary, allergy, and critical care medicine, says he is interested in learning about "every imaginable aspect" of the sleep disorder that is...