In brief: F&P upgrades guidance, NSM creates 'Chill Spot'

IRVINE, Calif. - Fisher & Paykel Healthcare has upgraded its guidance for the financial year ending March 31, 2020, to full operating revenue of about $1.17 billion and net profit after tax of about $245 million to $255 million.

The company expects operating revenue for the first half of the 2020 financial year ending Sept. 30, 2019, to be about NZ$560 million and net profit after tax to be about NZ$120 million.

“We've had a good start to the year and are on track to deliver strong revenue and earnings growth in the 2020 financial year,” said Lewis Gradon, managing director and CEO.

Previously in May, F&P provided guidance for operating revenue of about $1.15 billion and net profit after tax of about $240 million to $250 million.

The upgraded guidance assumes an NZ:US exchange rate of about 64 cents for the balance of the year. The prior guidance was based on an exchange rate of 65 cents.

“Our New Zealand dollar results can be influenced by exchange rate movements and our earnings guidance has benefitted from a weakening of the New Zealand dollar,” Gradon said.

F&P made the announcement at its annual shareholders meeting on Aug. 28.

Southwest Medical Aid shows off new warehouse

TUCSON, Ariz. - Southwest Medical Aid, a nonprofit that provides DME to low-income residents, held a grand opening ceremony for its new warehouse on Aug. 28, according to the Arizona Daily Star. Over the past 14 years, Southwest Medical Aid has repurposed more than 500,000 pounds of wheelchairs, crutches, walkers, hospital beds and other DME and distributed it statewide, as well as nationally during disasters like Hurricane Katrina, the newspaper reported. The nonprofit receives equipment and supplies through donations from hospitals, clinics, individuals and other groups. Southwest Medical Aid is staffed by about 25 volunteers, including medical professionals, who sort and repackage supplies and prepare equipment for distribution.

Essity taps Universal Software solution

DAVISON, Mich. - Essity will use Universal Software Solutions' VendorLink to automate its electronic ordering and patient drop-ship solutions. VendorLink, a companion application to HDMS, Universal's core application, offers a secure and dedicated point-to-point connection with distributors, providing automation for HME suppliers and pharmacies. "When our clients use the HDMS Outreach Services for patient resupply of products, together with our VendorLink solution, it creates a fully automated process from outreach to billing for a 'no-touch' operation,” said Christopher Dobiesz, president of USS. “That is a big game-changer for a number of providers that see reductions in reimbursements across product lines and therapies.” Essity, formerly BSN Medical, has a broad portfolio of wound care, lymphology and non-invasive orthopedic products, including the JOBST product line.

Responsive Respiratory boosts marketing

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Responsive Respiratory has added CPAP insert cards to the marketing program for its new Purify 03 Sanitizer. The insert card features a dedicated space for providers to stamp or sticker their contact information to market to new patients or through PAP resupply. Qualified buyers can receive up to 100 free cards with every Purify 03 purchased. “These cards drive business for providers by targeting their new PAP patients or at the point of resupply,” said Tom Bannon, president. “This encourages the patient-provider relationship and helps to keep the cash sale at the provider instead of an online discounter.”

NSM creates 'ADA Chill Spot' at music festival

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - National Seating & Mobility is the first ADA sponsor of the Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival, a two-day event featuring a diverse lineup of music performers. NSM will create and staff the “National Seating & Mobility ADA Chill Spot” for the Sept. 21-22 event, an accessible air-conditioned tent that will provide an exclusive area for attendees with disabilities and their companions. “This is an opportunity in our own backyard to provide a service that will not only help this festival become more accessible but to also provide a welcoming environment allowing music lovers with special needs to rest up, recharge and fully enjoy the Pilgrimage experience,” said CEO Bill Mixon. The tent will include comfortable seating, a private changing area, refreshments and a recharging station. NSM will also underwrite the ADA platforms around performance stages.

OneTrust tapped by ResMed for compliance

ATLANTA - OneTrust has been selected by ResMed, which has more than 10 million cloud-connected devices for daily remote patient monitoring, for global privacy compliance. With wide-reaching data protection requirements under new and impending privacy regulations, ResMed selected OneTrust to implement a highly configurable, centralized platform with multi-lingual capabilities to support privacy processes across all business units within the organization, OneTrust says. “The major benefit of OneTrust is the platform's agility,” said Frederic Varnieu, ResMed Europe director of privacy. “We can capitalize on the deep privacy research built into the tool and also customize the template assessments and questionnaires to mirror our standard verbiage and adapt to our business processes and country-specific needs. This flexibility has been crucial to simplifying our global privacy compliance processes.” ResMed leverages OneTrust's Data Mapping Automation, PIA & DPIA Automation, Cookie Consent and Website Scanning, and Data Subject Rights Management for GDPR, CCPA and global privacy regulation compliance.

Inspire touts coverage win

MINNEAPOLIS - Two Medicare Administrative Contractors, Noridian and Palmetto, have published draft local coverage determinations that propose coverage for Inspire Medical Systems' obstructive sleep apnea therapy, according to the company. Both draft LCDs state that for individuals with OSA who are treated with hypoglossal nerve stimulation, the evidence is sufficient to determine that neurostimulation technology results in a meaningful improvement in the net health outcomes when used as outlined. “This is a very positive advancement for the Medicare-aged population that has the potential to streamline their access to Inspire therapy,” said Tim Herbert, president and CEO. “We look forward to the formal policies from Noridian and Palmetto, and anticipate that other MACs will also soon issue their draft policies.” The LCDs are in a public comment period for 60 days, then will move to formal review by Noridian in September and by Palmetto in October. The company expects the MACs to issue final policies in 2020.