Archive: January 2013
Sleep apnea specialists collaborate to improve care
January 31, 2013HME News Staff
FORT MYERS, Fla. - Signature Sleep Services and CPAP Horizon Project are working together to improve sleep apnea management for patients, according to a press release. The management of sleep apnea involves many software applications and medical devices, but they often don't share data, according to the release. To bridge this gap, Signature Sleep Services has introduced SleepScreener, a web-based application that screens and refers sleep disorder patients to facilities licensed to access the application....
DME Data Solutions crunches CPAP data
January 31, 2013HME News Staff
SAN DIEGO - DME Data Solutions has introduced a CPAP Patient Data Analyzer (CPDA), an analytics system that allows users to mine data and manage clinical outcomes, according to a press release. CPDA imports data from sleep studies, CPAP therapy reports and EMR systems, and stores it in a shared database. The data allows users to manage clinical outcomes through trend reports. After creating a patient baseline from the sleep study, users can view CPAP device data, such as leak, pressure and compliance,...
Diabetes attacks!
January 30, 2013Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
The other day, there was yet another article in which a person with diabetes experienced a low blood sugar while driving. The driver had a "diabetic attack," said the article. Which led to commenters posting how much they hated that phrase.
Diabetes doesn't "attack" and it's poorly written stuff like this that makes people with diabetes sound like we are walking around in imminent danger from ourselves. We are not and I think most of us have a sense of humor about the disease. Check out this picture...
Vocation and avocation
January 30, 2013Liz Beaulieu, Editor
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Norm McCombs, the senior vice president of research and development at AirSep, has hit a milestone or two in his long career as an engineer and inventor. He holds more than 40 U.S. patents and he's received the Thomas A. Edison Patent Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, not once but twice (2004 and 2007). But when he found out he would be awarded a National Medal of Technology and Innovation from President Barack Obama in February, for his work on pressure...
Report: DME fraud on the rise
January 30, 2013HME News Staff
DES PLAINES, Ill. - There's room to eliminate anywhere from $1.5 billion and $5 billion in DME fraud in a single year, according to a new report by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). The reason? An uptick in questionable claims (QCs), which have increased consistently since 2009. QCs are referred to the NICB by member insurance companies, which flag certain claims for review based on one or more indicators of possible fraud. A rise in QCs signals that DME fraud may be getting detected at...
CMS announces payment amounts for Round 2
January 30, 2013HME News Staff
BALTIMORE - CMS announced today that reimbursement rates for certain home medical equipment will be, on average, 45% lower than the current fee schedule as part of Round 2 of competitive bidding.Medicare beneficiaries will save, on average, 72% on diabetic testing supplies as part of the national mail-order program.The CMS Office of the Actuary estimates that the program will save the Medicare Part B Trust Fund $25.7 billion and beneficiaries $17.1 billion between 2013 and 2022.“This program...
Noridian gets new Medicare contract
January 30, 2013HME News Staff
FARGO, N.D. - Noridian Administrative Services has been awarded a new Medicare claims processing contract, according to an article in the Grand Forks Herald. Under the five-year contract, Noridian will administer claims for Medicare Part A and Part B for a region that includes California, Nevada, Hawaii, Guam and American Samoa, according to the article. The contract, Noridian's biggest ever, will see the company administer about 15% of Medicare's national claims volume, the article states. The contract...
Provider bats .1000 with safety initiative
January 29, 2013Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
APPLETON, Wis. - Members of ThedaCare at Home's distribution team start each day with morning stretches, part of an initiative to reduce workplace injuries.
“It's truly a quantum change in the culture of the organization to focus on safety,” said Randy Lutz, manager of HME operations and support services. “With our delivery service techs, the bio med team, the shipping and receiving employees, we saw three or four injuries a year. We put a stake in the ground."
The...
O&P advocates launch auditing initiative
January 29, 2013HME News Staff
WATERLOO, Iowa - Orthotic and Prosthetic Group of America (OPGA) is spearheading a new initiative designed to help independent orthotic and prosthetic practitioners fight for “greater transparency and oversight of CMS independent audit contractors,” according to a press release. The initiative, called “Speak4OandP,” is an online platform for orthotic and prosthetic practitioners to tell their stories about the negative impact audits are having on business, the release...
Sleep HealthCenters closes abruptly
January 29, 2013HME News Staff
BOSTON - Sleep HealthCenters, a sleep testing diagnostics chain, abruptly closed down all 19 of its locations, according to a report from the Boston Globe. With most of its locations in New England, including 11 in Massachusetts, the company cited “circumstances beyond our control” as the reason for the closure. In particular, Richard Mikels, the company's lawyer, blamed the proliferation of home sleep testing kits. “This change from the pervasive use of sleep centers to the pervasive...