Blog

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Dec. 20 that it has approved Zepbound (tirzepatide) for the treatment of moderate to severe sleep apnea in adults with obesity to be used in combination with a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity.  “Today’s approval marks the first drug treatment option for certain patients with obstructive sleep apnea,” said Sally Seymour, M.D., director of the Division of Pulmonology, Allergy, and Critical...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Nymbl Systems, a provider of cloud-based practice management software for orthotics and prosthetics, complex rehab technology and home medical equipment providers, has received an equity investment from Frontier Growth.  The amount of the deal was not disclosed, but Charlotte-based Frontier Growth typically makes initial equity investments of $5 million to $30 million in mission critical vertical SaaS companies with $3 million to $20 million of annual recurring revenue...

WASHINGTON – Medicaid spending on 10 selected diabetes and two selected weight loss drugs totaled more than $9 billion in 2023, a 540% increase compared to 2019, according to a new Data Brief from the Office of Inspector General.  “This substantial increase could have a financial impact on the Medicaid program,” the brief states. “Information in this data brief may be beneficial to CMS and State Medicaid agencies when developing future program guidance related to these...

STEVENS POINT, Wis. - Ki Mobility has appointed Charlie Covert as president of Mobility North America effective Jan. 6. Covert joins Ki Mobility and Etac with more than 20 years of experience in the md-tech sector, most recently as general manager for Pain Interventions at Medtronic. Doug Munsey, co-founder of Ki Mobility and current president of Mobility North America, will transition into a partial retirement and senior advisor role starting Jan. 1 to support Etac and the chairman of the board...

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Aeroflow Breastpumps, a subsidiary of Aeroflow Health, has been selected by Montana’s Department of Public Health and Human Services as a contractor to provide double electric breast pumps and related supplies for eligible members of Montana Medicaid and Health Montana Kids/Children’s Health Insurance Plan through Sept. 30, 2025. “We’re very grateful to continue serving the residents of Montana and look forward to expanding our services throughout the...

CINCINNATI – Medical Service Company’s latest acquisition of a hospital-owned DME brings the number of discharging hospitals under its care to more than 50, says CEO Josh Marx.  MSC announced Dec. 3 it had acquired Carle Medical Supply, a DME provider supporting patients of Carle Health, which includes eight hospitals and multi-specialty physician group practices with more than 1,300 doctors and advanced practice providers, as well as provider-driven health insurance plans.  “Even...

ORLANDO, Fla. – Rotech Healthcare recently partnered with Signifier Medical Technologies to offer the eXciteOSA device as an alternative option for OSA, part of the provider’s commitment to serving all patients, says CEO Robin Menchen.  The eXciteOSA device allows daytime treatment for approximately 20 minutes twice a day for the initial treatment period, which is ideal for those patients who cannot tolerate CPAP treatment when trying to sleep, she said.  “Our...

It’s a tradition for me to use my editorial in the upcoming January issue to discuss the most read stories in the HME industry for the previous year.  Here is what the list looks like for 2024:  ResMed on mask recall, big tech and demand gen  Oxygen bill introduced in House  Catheter proposal is huge step forward  Owens & Minor to buy Rotech  Philips exit: ‘Nothing fazes us anymore’  Change Healthcare outage has scary impact on HME industry  Providers:...

WATERLOO, Iowa – U.S. Rehab plans to have a new program up and running in January that will give rehab technicians another opportunity to become assistive technology professionals (ATPs).  The ATP Academy is an online program that comprises several modules on everything from anatomy and physiology to seating and mobility to fundamental engineering principles to service and delivery.  “Basically, what we tried to do is develop a checklist of items that you’d need...

GILBERT, Ariz. – Strive Compounding Pharmacy’s recent purchase of a new facility in St. Louis is the company's response to a growing demand for personalized medicines, says Zach Shurtleff.  The 50,000-square-foot facility will bring Strive’s pharmaceutical compounding, warehouse and custom fulfillment space all under one roof, allowing the provider to offer its telehealth and other clinical partners the benefit of scale though a closed-door pharmacy model, says Shurtleff,...