Archive: September 2024
Geriatric Medical, DDP Medical join forces
September 30, 2024HME News Staff
WOBURN, Mass. – GMSS, the parent company of Geriatric Medical & Surgical Supply, has acquired DDP Medical Supply, significantly expanding its footprint and forming what it says is “the nation’s leading medical supply distribution networks focused on chronic, post-acute and home care providers.”
Both companies will maintain their unique brands and market-focused solutions, while benefiting from increased scale, enhanced distribution infrastructure and expanded service...
ResMed launches smartwatch app, health concierge, travel gear & fabric mask
September 30, 2024HME News Staff
SAN DIEGO – ResMed has launched several patient-centric products designed to enhance their therapy for sleep apnea, including several new features for its myAir App. New features for myAir include smartwatch apps for Apple and Android, sleep staging from Apple Health and Health Connect, personalized coaching and holistic trending. “We know that digital wearables and other innovative technologies like AI can help consumers better understand their sleep habits and create a personalized...
Oxygen stakeholders plan awareness day
September 30, 2024HME News Staff
MIAMI – The second annual World Oxygen Day, led by the COPD Foundation and supported by Nonin, will be held Oct. 2. The day brings together more than a dozen global patient advocacy organizations and professional societies to recognize and raise awareness of the importance of oxygen and oxygen therapy. “Oxygen is a fundamental need for human life, but our global health care infrastructure does not always reflect that,” said Mike Hess, MPH, RRT, RPFT, senior director of advocacy...
NCPA releases new PBM ad
September 30, 2024HME News Staff
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The National Community Pharmacists Association has released a new digital ad as part of its ongoing campaign to push lawmakers to enact pharmacy benefit manager reform. In the ad, Bil and Shanon Schmidtknecht of Wisconsin speak out against PBMs after their 22-year-old son, Cole, went to get his Advair prescription refilled at a chain pharmacy early this year — a medicine he had been taking for a decade — and was told it was suddenly more than $500. He had to make...
HME Home Health takes No. 376 spot
September 30, 2024HME News Staff
RICHMOND, British Columbia – HME Home Health has announced that it has been named to The Globe and Mail’s Canada’s Top Growing Companies list for the third year in a row. The company ranked No. 376 out of 416 on three-year revenue growth of 75%. "HME has seen exceptional growth, not only in our revenue but also in our dedicated team, which now numbers over 130 members," said Robert Boscacci, HME Home Health's CEO and co-founder. "To be recognized by The Globe...
CCS: ‘There’s something about that DME interaction’
September 27, 2024Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
DALLAS – People with diabetes fall off their therapy all the time for a variety of reasons, but DME providers are best equipped to catch them when they do, according to the results of a new study conducted by CCS.
DME patients reinitiated their use of continuous glucose monitors 22% of the time compared to 10% of pharmacy patients, the study found.
“I didn’t expect the difference to be that big,” said Dr. Arti Masturzo, chief medical officer at CCS. “People...
NIV reconsideration: Try-and-fail recommendation causes concerns
September 27, 2024Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON – Industry stakeholders are concerned that a recommendation to require COPD patients to try and fail on respiratory assist devices before they can qualify for non-invasive ventilators will impede access for patients.
The recommendation is part of a request to reconsider the national coverage determination for the use of non-invasive ventilators and respiratory assist devices for Medicare beneficiaries with COPD.
It would be better to first deal with existing issues...
Reliable Medical strives for ‘one system’
September 27, 2024Liz Beaulieu, Editor
FRANKLIN, Tenn. – Reliable Medical has grown significantly in the past three years and now it has a new CEO that can help the company “catch up.”
Charles Sargeant, who was previously Reliable Medical’s COO and who has more than 20 years of experience at National Seating & Mobility and Apria Healthcare, was named CEO this summer, replacing Katie Stevens, who is now the company’s chief people officer.
“The company has grown rapidly and evolved quickly,...
Prochant readies to scale
September 27, 2024Liz Beaulieu, Editor
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Prochant is entering a new phase with a new CEO.
Prochant has tapped Joey Graham, who has been with the company since 2015, most recently as chief revenue officer, to lead the company. Mathew Mammen, owner and CEO, has transitioned to the role of executive chairman.
“We’ve made it through the startup phase and the growth phase, and now we’ve arrived at the scale phase,” Graham said. “We have to leverage repeatable models, and...
In brief: Wheelchair bill, RPM monitoring, catheter billing
September 27, 2024HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., have introduced legislation that would improve access to titanium and carbon fiber manual wheelchairs for Medicare beneficiaries.
S. 5154, which would create two new HCPCS codes for complex rehab technology manual wheelchairs and would allow for upgrades, is a companion bill to H.R. 5371.
“The Senate bill drops at an opportune time for mobility stakeholders and disability advocates to ask their...