F&P's Evora: A mask fit for the times

IRVINE, Calif. - Launching a product in the middle of a global pandemic is a challenge, but Fisher & Paykel Healthcare believes its new mask has a number of features that makes it an easier sell for HME providers and users.

The company announced in July that the F&P Evora, a nasal mask with what it calls “CapFit” headgear, which allows users to put on their masks like a baseball cap, had received regulatory clearance for use in the United States.

“Given the current situation and the way DME providers are repurposing their businesses going forward, we think this product offers a valid proposition: It's simple,” said Subbarao Potharaju, director of marketing for homecare. “Teaching a patient how to use a mask will be a lot easier with this product.”

In a clinical trial, F&P says 98% of participants described Evora as “simple to take off and put on in the dark” and 95% of respiratory therapists found it “simple to fit.”

That simplicity comes in handy with providers across the health care spectrum conducting more of their business remotely due to the pandemic, Potharaju says.

“This whole idea of remotely setting up patients - that dynamic will continue, in my opinion,” he said. “I don't think we're going to come out of this in the next month or two and go back to normal. A lot of patients are being routed through home sleep testing and then handed off to DMEs, so you need a product that's intuitive right out of the box.”

F&P has also developed product intro kits that include samples and collateral for providers and physicians, and an F&P MyMask app for users that serves as a “reference library,” Potharaju says.

“It helps the patient figure out how to wear the mask and how to clean it,” he said. “It helps to make patient education more hands off.”