Archive: December 2003

SALISBURY, N.C. - Rowan Medical intentionally avoided the Internet band wagon of the late 1990s, but these days the provider's singing a different tune. Rowan debuted rowanmedical.com in November as a way to boost its cash sales and generate business in other parts of the state. The provider also is exploring the possibility of partnering with hmeprovider.com, an e-commerce site that, among other things, acts as a sort of group purchasing organization for HMEs and directs consumers to member equipment...

Apria cuts its DSO to 50 LAKE FOREST, Calif. - As of Sept. 30, Apria's DSO stood at 51 days, down from 52 days on June 30, 2003, according to the company's third quarter financial statement. Through the first three quarters of 2003, Apria has acquired 21 companies with an aggregate purchase price of $88.6 million, all of which continued to be funded by cash flow generated from operations.

After stepping down as medical director of the Region C DMERC Oct. 31, a position he held since the carriers geared up in the early 1990s, Dr. Paul Metzger started work Nov. 10 as the Scooter Store's chief medical director and vice president of government relations. These are heady days for providers of durable medical equipment, especially if you've got business in the K0011 power wheelchair category. (See story page 1). We spoke with Metzger on Dec. 4 about Medicare reform, the Houston scandal,...

MIAMI LAKES, Fla. - So far, Rob Del Giacco likes what he sees in his company's pilot telemedicine program. “It is a great feature in that we are saving time and getting the patient what they need in a more efficient and effective manner,” said All-Med Services' vice president of operations and clinical services. “We're being proactive in the care of the patient rather than reactive.” By using equipment with telemedicine capabilities for ventilator, infant apnea and liquid...

Ambulatory systems such as Helios and Venture Homefill have indeed made a huge impact on the respiratory market, but manufacturers say that success hasn't come at the expense of oxygen conservers and regulators, which remain more popular than ever. Moreover, they expect use of conservers and regulators to increase in the coming years. “The market for conservers in our experience is exploding,” said Bob Sorbello, vice president of sales and marketing for Mada Medical, Carlstadt, NJ. “The...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - American HomePatient (AHP) emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy July 1 under a restructuring plan that preserves the company's current management, restructures its long-term debt and ensures that all creditors and vendors will be paid 100% of what they are owed. If that news isn't good enough, in one of its best financial showings in years, AHP's same-store sales for the first quarter of 2003 jumped $4.6 million or 5.9% compared to the first quarter of last year. The company's first...

DOT: Delta neglects wheelchair users ATLANTA - Delta Air Lines agreed in November to a $1.35 million penalty for inadequate service to passengers requiring wheelchairs. The airline will pay the Department of Transportation only $100,000 if it reduces complaints from passengers and spends at least $1.25 million to improve the service. The DOT said the civil penalty is the largest so far for violations of the 1986 Air Carrier Access Act. The agency said Delta failed to provide wheelchairs in some cases,...

ATLANTA - An estimated 8.6 million people in the United States have serious illnesses attributed to smoking with chronic bronchitis and emphysema accounting for 59% of all smoking-attributable diseases, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report (Cigarette Smoking-Attributable Morbidity - United States, 2000) provides the first national estimates of the number of people with serious chronic illnesses caused by smoking and the total number of their smoking-attributable...

BALTIMORE, Md. - CMS and the DMERCs, in a bulletin that has stunned manufacturers and suppliers of power mobility for seniors, have announced plans to strictly enforce coverage criteria for power wheelchairs that could severely restrict the provision of K0011 chairs. The Dec. 8 and Dec. 9 bulletins from all four DMERCs are widely viewed as a crackdown on the remarkable growth in Medicare expenditures for the K0011 and a reining in of a liberal interpretation of the ‘bed or chair confined' policy...

Challenges abound in finicky sleep business WASHINGTON - Although a swelling market, with annual growth rates of more than 20% over the past few years, providers who offer sleep disorder breathing services still face challenges when calculating their bottom line. To help providers understand the risks associated with the market, AAHomecare included a special section on sleep in its 2003 Financial Performance Survey aimed at providing an “average” service model for sleep disorder providers. “The...