Archive: July 2012

SARASOTA, Fla. - The Cortec Group, a New York-based private equity fund, has acquired Harmar Mobility, according to a press release from Harris Williams & Co., an investment bank that advised Harmar. The transaction closed July 20. “This transaction is evidence of the strong interest that continues in the sector, driven by investors' desire to find scalable business models in a growing market that is positioned to benefit from positive demographic trends, as well as increasing utilization among...

I got a good reminder, during Invacare Media Day this week, that “image is everything.” (Don't even pretend you don't remember the Andre Agassi/Canon commercial that brought that quote into the world!) As part of media day, Lou Slangen told us how much Invacare and its image have changed over the years. Let's just say, in 1979 this was how the company described what it did: “Making products for invalids.” Today: “Making life's experiences possible.” These conjure...

WASHINGTON - The newest draft version of an operations guide for the power mobility device (PMD) demonstration project includes a word providers have been hoping to see: accessories.A note in the guide, "Accessories: reserved for future use," which is listed with the PMD codes that will be included in the demo, is a placeholder, CMS officials stated during an Open Door Forum July 27."At this point in time, we have not made a decision," said Doris Jackson, a health insurance specialist at CMS, during...

WESTMINSTER, Colo. - Smart phones and tablets don't just allow HME providers to run their businesses better. CareTouch also believes they allow them to communicate with and manage patients better.That's why CareTouch in late June launched an app for patients with sleep disorders that allows them to communicate with their providers, track their therapy and re-order their supplies.“This type of communication is huge because providers can't afford to send out drivers all the time,” said...

I interviewed Julian Gordon, the president and founder of Amramp, recently. In case you're not familiar with Amramp, it's a South Boston, Mass.-based manufacturer of portable wheelchair ramps.Just as easily as these ramps are attached to houses they can be taken off. As you can imagine, that makes them very attractive to discerning homeowners and landlords, not to mention consumers who will need them only for a short period of time.Another important thing to know about Amramp: It has been manufacturing...

ST. LOUIS - Responsive Respiratory Inc. (RRI) has expanded into the market for parts and accessories for home filling oxygen systems to keep up with home medical equipment providers who are shifting to non-delivery models.RRI announced recently that it now offers cylinders, valves, conservers and patient set-up kits (includes cylinder carrying case) for use with home filling systems.“We're looking at customers going in that direction and we're thinking, 'We're losing that business; how...

With capped rentals, audits and competitive bidding severely curtailing cash flow and sales opportunities, HME providers need help to withstand the challenging power mobility market. In response, the vendor community has developed a series of programs to serve as a financial lifeline for those impacted by industry changes.By working more closely with their provider customers, vendors say that together they can forge new strategies to ease the cash pinch and increase the viability of the business.For...

BOSTON - Sleep Management Solutions (SMS) in May partnered with Neighborhood Health Plan to provide sleep diagnostic and therapy services to the insurer's 240,000 patients in Massachusetts.“You'd be hard pressed to find a health plan that isn't looking at sleep and a program to manage its sleep services,” said Tom Gaffney, president of SMS, a sleep benefits management company owned by CareCentrix. “Studies show that by (treating sleep apnea), the overall use of healthcare services...

CONCORD, N.H. - Just because a patient is using a CPAP machine every night, doesn't mean he benefits from it, says Eric Cohen, president of National Sleep Therapy (NST).So the provider developed a “CPAP outcome score,” which combines both objective device data like usage, and subjective patient data like whether the patient is feeling better.“If we just look at the hour usage it doesn't always paint a complete picture of CPAP therapy impact or efficacy,” said Cohen. “We...

CORDOVA, Ala. - More than a year after tornadoes demolished his pharmacy—as well as most of this tiny town—pharmacist Ken Glover has rebuilt.“I had invested years of my life and money there and we had a host of employees there that would be jobless,” said Glover, owner of Ken Glover Drug. “The community had a need and we realized there was nothing else coming back.”Alabama was hit hard when record-breaking tornadoes swept through a seven-state area on April 27,...