Archive: June 2015

DALLAS - Ascendant Solutions, an investment firm, and its healthcare subsidiary, Dougherty's Holdings, have acquired The Medicine Shoppe pharmacy in McAlester, Okla.It's the fourth recent acquisition for Ascendant, which trades on Pink Sheets and is focused on acquiring, managing and growing community-based pharmacies in the Southwest region under Doughtery's Holdings.“Given its excellent reputation as the premier independent pharmacy in McAlester, we intend to continue to operate this...

MCHENRY, Ill. - Medela has partnered with the Wound Care Education Institute to provide industry certification to its professional wound care staff. The institute's Certified Wound Care Market Specialist program educates professionals on evidence-based current standards of care in wound management. The institute has trained and certified nearly 1,000 wound care sales and marketing professionals in both the healthcare and manufacturing industries. "This partnership ensures Medela sales and marketing...

SAN DIEGO - Marble City Health Mart Pharmacy in Sylacauga, Ala., has been named the 2014 Pharmacy of the Year by McKesson. The award recognizes independent pharmacies that are best-in-class in a range of areas, including innovative approaches to their business and outstanding service to their community. McKesson recognized three additional pharmacies as regional winners: The Prescription Shop Health Mart Pharmacy in Montebello, Calif., Towncrest Health Mart Pharmacy in Iowa City, Iowa, and First...

Therafirm'snew Ease brand of compression legwear was named Most Innovative Retail Product of 2015 as part of the “Retail Idol” competition at The VGM Group's recent Heartland Conference. During the competition, manufacturers demonstrated their products and answered questions from a judging panel and audience members�Brightree has appointed two new executives to support growth at the company: Lori Jones as executive vice president and general manager of home health, hospice and private...

I'm working on a story about oxygen transfilling technology. I'm working on a story about oxygen transfilling technology because Invacare has reported, for the past few quarters, the loss of a significant order of HomeFills by a national account. I thought it was a good time to check in on this technology. I'm still in the middle of interviewing sources, but in trying to determine whether this was a one-off or a trend, I first looked at some data. In our HME Databank, we track...

WASHINGTON - Industry stakeholders say, despite slow progress, the reintroduction of an audit reform bill is still a “high priority.” They had hoped to see Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-N.C., drop the bill this spring. “Obviously, we wanted it sooner than this,” said Beth Bowen, executive director of the North Carolina Association of Medical Equipment Services, who's been working with Ellmers on the bill. “It's still in the works, still a high priority.” The...

WASHINGTON - The federal government on June 25 had its last chance to weigh in on whether or not a court ruling in favor of Cardiosom should be applied to other providers whose contracts were rescinded as part of the original Round 1 of competitive bidding.Following the filing of this fourth brief, Jerry Stouck, a shareholder with Greenberg Traurig, the law firm representing Cardiosom and three other providers, believes the judge will make a decision in a few months time.“We'll see,”...

CARMEL, Ind. - Carmen Davies believes e-prescribing can help HME providers achieve a trifecta of improvements in patient care, compliance and profitability.Here's what Davies, who recently became an executive vice president and the chief compliance officer at Stratice Healthcare, a vendor of an e-prescribing software solution for HME, had to say about how technology is upending health care.HME News: What's behind the push toward e-prescribing?Carmen Davies: We've all seen the numbers of how home...

WINNIPEG, Manitoba - Scootaround hopes to ease travel headaches for wheelchair and scooter users with its new information sharing program. Scootaround DNA, which the provider is beta testing with members of the United Spinal Association, allows users to store their equipment information—such as model and serial numbers—on a secure database to help expedite repairs when traveling. “Given the complexity of the type of equipment that United Spinal members are traveling with,...

WASHINGTON - CMS is proposing new codes for miscellaneous DME to reflect more accurate payment of Medicare claims.HCPCS codes E1399 and K0108 are currently used to bill for inexpensive items; however, the agency proposes to replace them with new codes effective Jan. 1, 2016.The public is invited to submit electronic comments on the proposal until July 9, 2015.The proposed codes are:KXXX1: Durable medical equipment, miscellaneous, the purchase price does not exceed $150. Based on the average reasonable...