Graymark Healthcare's earnings up

OKLAHOMA CITY - It looks like Graymark Healthcare's renewed focus on sleep is paying off: Revenues increased 30% in 2010, the provider reported March 28.

Revenues for the year ended Dec. 31, 2010 were $22.8 million up from $17.6 million in 2009. The increase is attributed to, among other things, added revenues from Graymark's acquisitions of Somni sleep centers in 2009.

Revenues from the company's sleep diagnostic business increased 27%, to $17.2 million in 2010, compared to $13.5 million in 2009. The company said it is entering into in-network agreements with insurers, which it believes will lead to an increase in patients at its sleep centers, thanks to lower out-of-pocket costs for patients.

Revenues from the company's sleep therapy business increased 37% to $5.6 million, compared to $4 million in 2009. The company attributed the increased to growth in CPAP setups and re-supply orders. Re-supply orders alone increased 105% from the first quarter of 2010 to the fourth quarter, stated the release.

In late 2009, the company launched a comprehensive care model for treating sleep apnea, followed in May 2010 by the launch of e-commerce site www.CPAP-supplies.com.

In September 2010, Graymark sold its independent pharmacy division, Apothecary Rx, to Walgreens so that it could focus on its sleep business.

"2010 was a transformative year for Graymark as we successfully divested our pharmacy business to focus exclusively on the fast growing market of diagnosing and treating obstructive sleep apnea," said Stanton Nelson, Graymark's chairman and CEO in the release."

Other highlights from the report:

* Graymark performed 18,435 sleep studies in the company's standalone facilities, rural outreach sites and hospital agreements, an increase of 38% from 2009.

* The increase in sleep studies drove an increase in CPAP setups to 3,031, up 57% over 2009.