Tag: Oxygen
Medixine, Nonin Medical partner to leverage overnight oximetry as pre-screening tool for oxygen, sleep therapy
April 23, 2024HME News Staff
ESPOO, Finland – Finnish health tech company Medixine has strengthened its presence in the U.S. market with “a deepened technological partnership” with Nonin Medical, a manufacturer of wearable and noninvasive medical monitoring devices. The new partnership will combine Medixine’s digital remote patient monitoring software platform with Nonin’s pulse oximetry devices. “In deepening our partnership with Nonin Medical, we’re setting ambitious goals together...
Groups push for standardized clinical data elements
October 16, 2023HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – The Council for Quality Respiratory Care recently joined five other respiratory care groups in sending a letter to CMS asking the agency to require Medicare contractors to use a standard clinical data element template for supplemental oxygen to ensure beneficiaries, prescribers and suppliers won’t be overburdened with audits.
While the groups say they appreciate that CMS has developed a pilot program for an e-clinical template for oxygen, the current focus on electronic...
Oxygen template: CQRC enlists Congress
September 12, 2023HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – Fourteen members of the U.S. House of Representatives have sent a letter to CMS urging the agency to clarify Medicare documentation requirements for supplemental oxygen and adopt a standardized template for documenting patient need, according to the Council for Quality Respiratory Care.
“We write to request that auditors accept the standard written order (SWO) as the only necessary documentation to establish medical necessity when auditing claims of patients who...
Telesair receives CE mark for oxygen system
August 23, 2023HME News Staff
IRVINE, Calif. – Telesair has received CE (Conformité Européenne) Marks for its Bonhawa High Flow Oxygen Therapy (HFOT) system for use in the treatment of patients with respiratory insufficiency. The light and compact device features an extended flow range up to 80 L/pm, a simple disinfection process and an easy-to-use touchscreen, allowing greater therapeutic range, efficient disinfection, the potential to reduce the workload of caregivers, and the ability to visualize patient...
Home oxygen: Could pilot boost argument for template?
August 16, 2023Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON – Industry stakeholders hope an upcoming pilot project by CMS will test the use of a standardized template for home oxygen therapy – something that would go a long way toward clearing up gray areas in coverage, they say.
CMS has a two year, nearly $4 million contract with Mettle Solutions, a health care information and technology solutions company, to launch the pilot and AAHomecare has scheduled a meeting with the company to learn more about it, says Kim Brummett,...
Belluscura inks deal with McKesson
August 4, 2023HME News Staff
LONDON AND PLANO, Texas – Belluscura has signed a distribution agreement with McKesson Medical-Surgical to distribute its X-PLOR portable oxygen concentrator. “We continue to expand the distribution of the X-PLOR throughout the U.S. and this exciting agreement will extend our reach to patients seeking access to best-in-class devices," said Robert Fary, senior vice president of global sales, Belluscura. In April, Belluscura secured a marketing agreement with the popular website...
Disruption, innovation and growth in first half of 2023
July 18, 2023Liz Beaulieu, Editor
We’ve burned through the first half of 2023 already and what do we have to show for it?
If the most read stories from January through June are any indication, it’s disruption, innovation and growth.
Let’s start with disruption. It has come in a number of forms in 2023, including one of the HME industry’s legacy manufacturers, Invacare, filing for bankruptcy. We posted a story about that to our website in February, and it remains the most read story of the...
Reps. Sewell, Smith launch sign-on letter to protect access to oxygen
July 17, 2023HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – Reps. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., and Adrian Smith, R-Neb., are collecting signatures for a sign-on letter asking CMS to accept the standard written order as the only necessary documentation to establish medical necessity for audits of home oxygen, sleep and non-invasive ventilation claims submitted during the public health emergency, according to AAHomecare.
The letter asks CMS to protect patient access by instructing contractors to use CMS’s widely accepted...
Home oxygen therapy: Stakeholders welcome ‘much-needed’ guidance
March 3, 2023Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON – An updated FAQ published by the DME MACs in February, by and large, addresses concerns around the new local coverage determination for home oxygen therapy and serves as a good reference point as HME providers navigate a new era for the benefit, stakeholders say.
The FAQ, published Feb. 21 and updated Feb. 23, addresses 25 questions related to continued need, the new N modifiers and more.
“Full stop, it was a much-needed thing,” said Andrea Stark, a...
In brief: Oxygen guidance, Inogen’s innovation, PHE guidance
February 24, 2023HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – The DME MACs have published an updated FAQ to provide additional guidance related to the new local coverage determination for home oxygen therapy.
The FAQ comprises 25 questions related to continued need, the new N modifiers and more.
AAHomecare highlighted the following questions in a bulletin:
1. Is an initial F2F evaluation required?
Answer: While there’s no formal requirement in the NCD or LCD, good medical practice would dictate...