Tag: iPhone
Breathe, LLC launches mobile oximetry app
June 24, 2013HME News Staff
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Breathe, LLC, a provider of overnight oxygen supplies and oximetry testing, has launched a mobile oximetry application, according to a press release. The patent-pending application, currently available on the iPhone, with forthcoming plans for an Android-compatible version, allows providers to view oximetry reports, fax reports to physicians, and view patient status and prescriptions. Through the app, providers can also sign patient forms directly on the phone, view patient archives...
New reimbursement data just in from CMS. Oxygen took a big hit in 2009
August 18, 2010Mike Moran
We just requested a whole bunch of data from CMS, and it has begun to trickle in. The data below is DMEPOS spending for the product categories that make up all of "Medical Equipment and Supplies."
The most interesting data here relates to oxygen spending, which dropped by $800 million in 2009 compared to 2008, from $2.8 billion to $2 billion. Looks like the oxygen cap and 9.5% cut, which took effect Jan. 1, 2009, played out the way CMS hoped they would.
Without further ado, here's the data. The dollar...
"Gain" 100 pounds instantly, lose it just as fast
July 23, 2010Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
Editor Liz just sent me a link to an iPhone app (obviously, she is shopping instead of working this afternoon). It's called "FatBooth" and it allows users to add 100 pounds to their photos so they can see how they'd look if they partook of too many Luther Burgers.
The heck with calorie-counting or carb-tracking apps. This could be a true motivator to get or stay fit.
Gotta run. I need to find someone with an iPhone. Stay tuned.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fatbooth/id372268904?mt=8
Theresa Flaherty
If CMS doesn't value respiratory therapists, can HMEs continue to employ them?
March 24, 2010Mike Moran
Here's a $64,000 question: If Medicare continues to cut reimbursement for home respiratory services, what will providers do to offset those cuts? This came up the other day during a conversation I had with Lou Kaufman, the vice president of patient/clinical services for Roberts Home Medical, a mid-Atlantic powerhouse that employs roughly 40 home respiratory therapists.
Here's what Lou had to say:
"If reimbursement continues to decrease, what will be the next things that homecare companies need to...
Sleep apnea? There's an app for that.
December 3, 2009Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
This is kind of cool.
The Reggie White Sleep Disorders Research and Education Foundation has developed a free iPhone application that enables users to determine if they are at risk for obstructive sleep apnea. The "app," Sleep Well, combines three screening tools used by sleep specialists to determine an individual's risk of having or developing the sleep apnea.
The app also includes a feature that will list nearby sleep disorders centers for users. iPhone users can get the app at http://appshopper.com/healthcare-fitness/sleep-well.
Theresa...
On the record with Rita Hostak
August 11, 2009Mike Moran
When it comes to the industry's government relations professionals, Sunrise Medical's Rita Hostak is one of the toughest to track down. She prefers to ply her trade behind the scenes. But when you do corner her, Hostak has plenty to say, especially when it comes to complex rehab, Sunrise's specialty. Here are some excerpts from a long conversation she had with HME News recently.
A Man Called Horse move
Reimbursement
Private Pluto film
We need to get back to the point where...
Here's why CMS keeps cutting HME reimbursement
July 13, 2009Mike Moran
Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol dvdrip I had an interesting conversation with an anesthesiologist at a cookout this past weekend.
It turns out, that like HMEs, Medicare loves to cut reimbursement for anesthesiologists. In fact, Medicare typically pays anesthesiologists 30 cents on the dollar, compared to 80 cents on the dollar for other MD specialists. Not surprisingly, anesthesiologists are unhappy about this situation.
After talking to this guy for 20 minutes or so, I think I've discovered...