Archive: April 2015
Google HME News with your phone at your own risk
April 30, 2015Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
If you haven't heard, Google wants you to make your website mobile friendly. In other words, if Mrs. Smith Googles you on her iPhone, your website wants to be formatted so it's user-friendly and readable on that teeny tiny screen.
Alas, this is not something the HME News website currently does, a fact that I've bemoaned to Editor Liz Beaulieu a few times over the past several months—probably every time (OK, all 3 of them) I have a conferred with a company that has made the switch.
In fact,...
Short Takes: NMEDA, MAMES
April 30, 2015HME News Staff
The National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association is sponsoring the fourth annual National Mobility Awareness Month contest. As part of the contest, wheelchair users will have the chance to win one of four wheelchair accessible vans by submitting a video detailing how they've personally triumphed over mobility challenges. Chairiot Mobility, BraunAbility, VMI and El Dorado Mobility have agreed to provide the vehicles and conversions…Attendance was up 10% at this year's MAMES Spring...
AAHomecare asks CMS to review prepayment process
April 30, 2015HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - AAHomecare submitted comments to CMS this week in response to the agency's request to the Office of Management and Budgetfor information about how its contractors perform prepayment reviewof claims. While AAHomecare acknowledged CMS's duty to identify fraud, the association took issue with the way CMS has exercised that right and offered recommendations on how to reduce unnecessary burdens on providers. AAHomecare's recommendations include requiring contractors to: develop, officially...
CMS's bull's eye on vents
April 30, 2015Liz Beaulieu, Editor
A few weeks ago, I was in a CPAP frame of mind; this week, it's vents.
First, CMS announced that non-invasive vents would be a new product category in Round 1 2017.
Then the agency announced in an MLN Matters article that providers who furnish vents—not only invasive vents, but also non-invasive vents—“must meet all applicable requirements for accreditation, such as ensuring that frequent and substantial servicing is provided.”
What's the big deal? “Providers...
Apria heals all wounds—with help from Mölnlycke
April 30, 2015HME News Staff
LAKE FOREST, Calif. - Apria has agreed to use Mölnlycke Health Care's Safetac technology and Avance Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) to minimize skin reactions and pain during dressing removal and to limit the spread of wound fluid. “Our partnership with Mölnlycke Health Care is consistent with our focus on providing a positive patient experience throughout the continuum of care, from hospital to home,” stated Dan Starck, CEO of Apria, in a release. Mölnlycke's products will...
Prism announces revenue increase
April 29, 2015HME News Staff
TORONTO - Prism Medical reported revenues of $12.2 million for the first quarter of 2015, an increase of 23% compared to the same quarter the previous year. First quarter net income from continuing operations was $402,000 or $0.08 per common share vs. $179,000 or $0.02 per common share. Adjusted EBITDA was $1.4 million.
Alliqua offers up stock
April 29, 2015HME News Staff
LANGHORNE, Pa. - Alliqua Medical has announced a public offering of common stock. The provider of advanced wound care products has announced pricing of an underwritten public offering of 6.6 million of its common stock at a price to the public of $4.55 per share. It expects to close the offering on May 4. Alliqua will use net proceeds from the offering to fund the expansion of its marketed products, explore additional products platforms and increase working capital, according to a press release.
Hearings held on audits, bidding
April 29, 2015Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON - A pair of hearings this week shined another light on the HME industry's issues with audits and competitive bidding.
On Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on Medicare audits and the difficulty that providers face appealing denied claims.
“When any Medicare contractor decides that a claim should not be paid, it has a real effect on beneficiaries and providers, which is why it is so important that the appeals process allow these appeals to be heard in a...
LifeCare buys Reuss
April 29, 2015HME News Staff
DALLAS - LifeCare Pharmacy has acquired Reuss Pharmacies. Reuss is a community pharmacy offering prescriptions, DME and home healthcare products. The San Antonio-based LifeCare offers compounding services and retail goods, according to a press release from Generational Equity, an mergers and acquisition firm that advised Reuss on the deal.
Short takes: WHILL, BioScrip
April 28, 2015HME News Staff
WHILL teamed up with Stanford graduate and undergraduate students and Prof. David Jaffe for an engineering course called “Perspectives in Assisted Technology.” As part of the course, students designed, fabricated and tested prototypes for improving the experience for WHILL users traveling at night. The final design uses LED strips on various parts of the device to improve visibility for the user, and for drivers and pedestrians. Using three knobs, users can control color settings and...