Briefs

Study: Intervene early with ailing COPD patients NEW YORK - A new study presents some hard evidence that HMEs who closely manage their respiratory patients do indeed save the healthcare system money. People with COPD should be on the lookout for worsening symptoms and not delay seeing a doctor. Researchers found that the earlier the treatment, the sooner recovery occurred. Patients who did not report their exacerbations to a physician were more likely to require emergency hospitalization, and had a poorer quality of life than those who took steps to take care of the problem, according to a June 15 study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Pharmacy co-op preaches home respiratory therapy ORLANDO, Fla. -  Whether they're wary of diving into Medicare Part B billing or just too busy to bother, independent pharmacists have not delved into DME in large numbers. Associated Pharmacies wants to change that. The Scottsboro, Ala., pharmacy co-op has scheduled a seminar to coincide with Medtrade where it will show its 700 members the profit potential in providing home respiratory therapy. “They are going to have to do it if they want to supply their patients with product that would be supplied by a normal DME or larger provider like Lincare,” said the co-op's senior respiratory consultant Nick Letson. “It is not something retail has generally gone after, but we are trying to change that.” Short takes The MED Group in Lubbock, Texas, announced the newest addition to its Full Service Network, Option Care of Nevada, with Ron Memo, general manager. Their membership is effective immediately...An Apria oxygen truck carrying a 100-pound container of medical liquid oxygen flipped on its side on U.S. 1 in Malabar, Fla., June 30, closing the highway for more than an hour. Driver James Eric Jacobs, 53, was charged with careless driving... Alicia Correa, the president and CEO of Bexar Care, a home medical equipment company formed in San Antonio in 1998, has been listed as part of Hispanic Trends magazine's top 100 Hispanic entrepreneurs for 2004. Sales jumped 50% to $1.5 million in 2003, according to the magazine.