In brief: SCA forms separate company, ResMed, ATS partner on grant

SCA forms separate hygiene company

PHILADELPHIA - SCA will split its global hygiene and health products into a new company, Essity.

The forest products division will remain under the SCA name.

As of 2016, 86% of the company is in hygiene and health, with 14% in forest products. Synergies between the operations have diminished over time, SCA said in a press release.

Essity will develop, produce, market and sell personal care and tissue products, including the BSN Medical brands, which SCA acquired in December for $2.9 billion. Essity stems from the words “essentials” and “necessities.”

“Hygiene and health are necessities for better lives and our products and solutions play an essential role in improving well-being for everybody, everywhere,” said Magnus Groth, president and CEO of SCA.

Groth will become president and CEO of Essity.

SCA had sales in about 150 countries under global brands like TENA for incontinence products and Tork for Away-from-Home tissue products. The acquisition of BSN Medical added brands like Leukoplast, Cutimed, JOBST, Delta Cast, Delta Lite and Actimove.

The split will be completed no later than the second half of 2017.

ResMed, ATS partner on NIV grant

SAN DIEGO - ResMed has funded a new $100,000 two-year grant with the American Thoracic Society to research non-invasive ventilation for COPD patients. COPD affects 65 million people worldwide and is the third leading cause of death, according to a press release. “Through this award, the field of respiratory medicine stands to gain more valuable knowledge about the use of NIV for the treatment of COPD with the ultimate goal of improving the lives of patients and the efficiency of our health care system as a whole,” said Carlos Nunez, MD, chief medical officer for ResMed.

Study: ASV improves compliance

SAN DIEGO - Patients with obstructive sleep apnea who develop central sleep apnea are more compliant when they switch from CPAP to adaptive servo-ventilation, according to a new study. The study, sponsored by ResMed, analyzed anonymous, aggregated data from the devices of 198,890 telemonitored patients. It showed that patients who switched from CPAP to ASV went from 62.7% compliance to 76.6% compliance. “Achieving compliance through proper therapy usage is a well-recognized clinical goal in sleep apnea management, and one that is often hard to achieve, particularly in difficult-to-treat patients who may have untreated central sleep apnea,” said Carlos Nunez, M.D., ResMed's Chief Medical Officer. “These findings underscore the importance of continuously monitoring central sleep apnea and rethinking the conventional wisdom on therapeutic options based on each patient's disease severity.”

Option Care earns perfect accreditation score

BANNOCKBURN, Ill. - Option Care earned a perfect score on its URAC Specialty Pharmacy accreditation for its corporate as well as three specialty pharmacy centers of excellence in Chicago, Los Angeles and Panama City, Fla. The perfect accreditation score applies to all specialty areas, including immunoglobulin (IG), bleeding disorders, enzymes and infliximab. Option Care was audited on more than 200 standards, nearly 90 of them mandatory., according to a press release. “We are proud and gratified to earn independent accreditation with this unprecedented demonstration of quality,” said Paul Mastrapa, CEO of Option Care. “A perfect score is significant for us as a national healthcare services organization, as well as for the patients and providers who rely on our care.” Option Care is a leading national provider of home and alternate site infusion services.

Familiar faces, 'fresh blood,' encouraged to submit proposals

ATLANTA - Time is running out to submit presentation ideas for Medtrade. Potential speakers must submit presentations for review by April 27. Medtrade 2017 takes place Oct. 23-26 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The Medtrade educational advisory board is also on the lookout for HME providers to share their stories. “Medtrade always has the best speakers in the industry,” says Kevin Gaffney, group show director, Medtrade. “Similar to last year, we will also be on the lookout for new blood, so feel free to pass along our 'Call for Presentations' to suitable candidates.” Go here for more information or to submit a proposal.

AAHomecare calls for audit data

WASHINGTON - The next submission round for AAHomecare's HME Audit Key opens April 17. The association is asking providers to use the online survey to submit their audit activity for the first quarter of 2017. To complete the survey, providers will need their NPIs and zip codes. AAHomecare reminded providers that Brightree customers now have the option of printing a report that will help them answer many of the operational questions in the quarterly survey. It also reminded them that they do not have to submit data on individual claims, only cumulative counts of pre- and post-payment audits and appeal claim outcomes under DME MAC, RAC and SMRC reviews.

NHIA publishes survey questions

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The National Home Infusion Association has published “Uniform Patient Satisfaction Survey Questions for Home Infusion Providers.” The 12 questions will enable providers to collect consistent data to be used for research and benchmarking. “With the current focus on value-based purchasing, the delivery of high-quality home infusion care requires providers to carefully consider the patient's experience more than ever before,” said Connie Sullivan, RPh, NHIF vice president of research. The new publication is the latest step in a multi-year initiative to establish demographic, operational, and quality benchmarks that will advance home infusion patient care.

MassHealth moves toward preferred manufacturer model

BOSTON - MassHealth has published a request for response for a preferred manufacturer/distributor for incontinence products, according to the Home Medical Equipment Services Association of New England. Tom Lane, the director of MassHealth's Fee-for-Service Programs, told HOMES, however, that the preferred manufacturer/distributor would be required to work with the HME provider network. The bid opening date is scheduled for May 1. A number of states have explored similar models for incontinence supplies, including Illinois and South Carolina. Last year, TwinMed snagged a five-year preferred vendor contract worth $225 million to provide incontinence supplies to Medicaid beneficiaries in New York.

Short takes: Coram, Coloplast

Coram CVS Specialty Infusion Serviceshas made Functional Formularies feeding tube and oral meal replacement formulas available to its customer base. Liquid Hope and Nourish, adult and pediatric certified organic, whole foods formulas, will be available through Coram, making them even more accessible to thousands of individuals and families coping with a wide-range of challenging health conditions, from cancer to ALS, Parkinson's and MS. “Our new partnership with Coram shows the industry, which has historically been built on sugar-filled formulas, has been flipped on its head,” said Robin Gentry McGee, founder and CEO of Functional Formularies…Coloplast's Biatain Silicone sizes and shapes has been awarded a Red Dot award for user experience and aesthetics. The Biatain Silicone products are soft, flexible, absorbent foam dressings with a silicone adhesive used for treating chronic and acute wounds. This year, Red Dot received 5,500 submissions from 54 countries. An independent and international jury of experts assessed all products entered…B. Braun has introduced an app that offers educational content to clinicians and patients for its Easypump ST/LT Elastometric Infusion Pump System. The Easypump app, for Apple and Android devices, offers simple menus and navigation, giving infusion therapy nurses a table-top tool for teaching patients how to properly use and manage the small, lightweight pump… Quantum Rehab has launched enhancements to its iLevel technology, including 12 inches of lift and LED fender lights, to further increase the independence of users. As of May 1, the iLevel technology available on the Q6 Edge 2.0 will have two inches more lift. The iLevel technology on the Q6 Edge 2.0 will also come standard with LED headlights and tail lights integrated into the fenders.

People: Joe Lewarski, John Graham

Joseph Lewarski, vice president of Global Respiratory and Sleep for Drive DeVilbiss, will speak at the American Association for Respiratory Care's 70th Anniversary Conference at the Dittrick Museum of Medical History April 22. He will discuss the history and evolution of home respiratory care, the impact that reimbursement challenges have on the delivery of care, the current status of respiratory homecare, therapists' current challenges and the future of homecare respiratory therapy…John Graham, a senior fellow of the National Community Pharmacists Association, has been appointed assistant principal deputy assistant secretary for Planning & Evaluation at the Department of Health and Human Services. Graham has a record of accomplishment in many areas of health policy, including payment reform, and regulation of drugs and devices, according to a press release.