Archive: July 2006

PITTSBURGH - A recent University of Pittsburgh study on wheelchair durability revealed that participants are "generally satisfied" with their wheelchairs, even though they sometimes need maintenance and repairs. As part of the pilot study, researchers polled 130 users on the characteristics of their wheelchairs, the types of maintenance and repairs completed and whether satisfaction was affected by any problems with their wheelchairs. Twenty-six percent of participants reported that they had completed...

SALT LAKE CITY - Nearly 60% of newly diagnosed OSA patients do not adhere to prescribed treatments, despite widespread promotion of CPAP as the most effective treatment, according to a paper presented in June at a meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Salt Lake City. Nearly 990 newly diagnosed patients were followed over their first five months of treatment by J.J. Palau of the VA San Diego Healthcare System. Palau found that only 20% used CPAP regularly as prescribed.

The MED Group plans to confront Medicare competitive bidding head-on by leveraging the combined muscle of its 240 members. Rather than bid individually, many MED members will join forces and bid as part of a provider network, said MED President and CEO Bill Elliott, who oversees the provider service organization. "We're not supportive of the Medicare competitive bidding model as it has been laid out by CMS, but we want to be prepared to support our membership in that environment," he said. MED is...

POWAY, Calif. - ResMed recently revamped its online resource site for patients, myresmed.com, with new content and tips on how to best use therapy product information. The free service is intended to help dealers and sleep clinicians educate and support new CPAP users. The site addresses common patient questions, allowing dealers to attend to more urgent patient needs. The site provides mask and accessory replacement reminders to patients. In addition to benefiting patients, it helps HMEs improve...

Rather than pass the torch during these turbulent times, AAHomecare's battle-tested chairman, Tom Ryan, will stay on in his role as the association's leader for another year. In addition to Ryan, AAHomecare's entire executive board, which usually rotates positions annually, also will remain in place--a move intended to provide stability and continuity as the association transitions to a new CEO. The association's search committee hoped to hire a new CEO by late July or early August, said Ryan. Former...

CLEARWATER, Fla.

WASHINGTON - In 20 tightly packed pages of comments submitted to CMS by the June 30 deadline, AAHomecare raised plenty of concerns over Medicare's draft plan to implement competitive bidding for DME. Of utmost importance: CMS should revise its timeline to make sure it has time to do all that's required by year's end. Among other things, CMS must select accrediting bodies, publish product categories, evaluate bids and educate beneficiaries and referral sources. With so much unexplained, AAHomecare...

As usual, the industry offered up no shortage of news this month, but rather than focus on one topic, I've decided to address a few I found particularly interesting. - First off, one word should hit you right between the eyes as you read this issue: SERVICE. It's everywhere. No one said, "It's the service, stupid." But they might just as well have--and if they had, they'd be right. As the industry fights its battle with forces intent on slashing reimbursement, all that really matters is service and...

DETROIT - If a protest filed by Rotech Healthcare passes muster in a federal court of claims, Mitchell Home Medical could lose a Department of Veterans Affairs contract to service 700 oxygen patients in the metropolitan Detroit area. The VA on April 1, 2006, notified the Ypsilanti, Mich.-based Mitchell and another provider, First Community Care, of its intent to award them a contract to service two of seven locations in its Veterans Integrated Service Network 11 (Michigan, Indiana and Illinois)....

Simple economics dictates that when the cost of furnishing a product outstrips the revenue it earns, that particular venture should be terminated. But we're talking about health care, a market that has always had a slightly different set of rules from other businesses. Free market principles don't usually apply in a sector that is governed by commercial insurers and federal bureaucracies, which remove the provider and consumer from the price-setting process. The provider must either accept the established...