Archive: April 2006

DALLAS - It appears Highland Capital Management is making good on its threat to takeover Brentwood, Tenn.-based American HomePatient. Highland, which owns 10% of AHP's stock, has nominated one of its own, Patrick Daugherty, for election to the provider's board of directors, the Nashville Business Journal reported in late March. Highland also seeks to change AHP's bylaws to allow shareholders with 50% of the provider's stock to call special board meetings. Moreover, it wants board vacancies that are...

WASHINGTON - CMS made a final determination March 23 that it will expand the use of home oxygen for Medicare beneficiaries participating in an approved clinical trial sponsored by the National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute. As part of the trial, oxygen therapy will be provided to beneficiaries with arterial oxygen partial measurements of 56 mmHg to 65 mmHg or oxygen saturation at or more than 89%. CMS currently covers beneficiaries with arterial oxygen partial measurements of 55 mmHg or less or oxygen...

ESCONDIDO, Calif. - The state handed a nursing home here a $100,000 fine in late February after an oxygen patient under its care was left alone while smoking a cigarette. The patient, who had COPD, caught fire and burned to death, according to the San Diego Union Tribune. It's the fourth time the state has fined Palomar Heights Care Center, a 98-bed facility.

WASHINGTON - A Medicare proposal to reimburse the brand-name drugs Xopenex and DuoNeb at lower generic rates sent shockwaves through the respiratory med industry in late March. A draft local coverage determination (LCD) calls for Xopenex to be paid as albuterol, while payment for DuoNeb would be based on the allowance for separate unit dose vials of albuterol and ipratropium. "This is unusual," said Mickey Letson, president of Decatur, Ala.-based Letco Companies. "(For Medicare to say) 'this drug...

WOBURN, Mass. - As you might expect of someone who oversees the nation's largest provider of blood glucose testing supplies and related diabetes services, PolyMedica CEO Patrick Ryan is a hard guy to track down. In December, the company partnered with a PR firm to boost outreach to its 850,000 diabetic patients (HME News February 2006). While the CEO did not grant HME News a sitdown interview to discuss that news, he did prepare a written overview of his predictions for 2006. While the predictions...

WASHINGTON - A recent article in the Washington Post showed how the once lowly "eject-o-chair" has morphed into a stylish piece of mainstream furniture with gigantic growth potential. The January article also pointed out that while HMEs have owned the seat-lift market, furniture stores have begun eyeing it with envy. "I believe furniture stores are trying to take business from dealers, but a lift chair is different from furniture and sizing someone properly is different than sizing them for a piece...

BELLEVILLE, Ill. - Credentialed providers will soon receive top billing on the Roho Group's Web site, as part of the seat cushion manufacturer's revamped retailer locator. By June, consumers using the locator will be given search results that distinguish between Roho-approved providers who employ NRRTS registrants and those who don't, according to Melissa Keim, the manufacturer's vice president of marketing. "NRRTS registrants are familiar with Roho, and they recognize the solutions, products and...

JAMESTOWN, Tenn. - Buckeye Home Health Center opened a new office and warehouse in March, allowing the provider to service patients in 22 counties in central and eastern Tennessee. Buckeye tapped Livingston, Tenn., for its seventh office. The office spans 2,300 square feet and features a showroom and fitting rooms. "We were trying to stretch to (Livingston) with two of our other offices, but we decided there was a need for an office there," said Mary Lou Delk, patient services manager. Buckeye decided...

CHATSWORTH, Calif. - Competitors may downplay Hoffman Laboratories' new battery powered BreatheX CPAP, but most everyone agrees that when it comes to design, this product pushes the aesthetic envelope. "It's novel and a different way of doing things, but will it pan out in the end? Who knows?" said Peter Farrell, CEO of ResMed, a market leader in developing products for sleep disordered breathing. The early reception for the BreatheX, which weighs a little over three pounds and looks more like a...

Q. I call on physician practices. What's the best way to get past the gatekeeper? A. Getting past the gatekeeper (typically, an administrative assistant) shouldn't be your goal. Ultimately, you want to speak with a physician or some other decision maker. So, in that sense, you have to move beyond the gatekeeper. However, if you think in terms of working with the gatekeeper to accomplish better patient care, you'll improve your chances of achieving your sales goals. First and foremost, be someone...