Also Noted

WASHINGTON – The Office of Inspector General has posted a consumer alert about a fraud scheme involving monthly billing for remote patient monitoring. The OIG says unscrupulous companies are signing up Medicare beneficiaries for monitoring using medical devices like scales, glucose monitors, blood pressure cuffs, cardiac rhythm devices and other equipment, regardless of medical necessity. The agency says these companies are signing up bennies for these services in several ways, including phone...

RICHMOND, British Columbia – HME Home Health collaborated with Motion to host a one-day conference on Nov. 14 that highlighted pediatric equipment. The event, which had the theme “Creating & Enhancing Accessibility for Young Lives,” provided local physical therapists and other health professionals with education on best practices in pediatric equipment provision. “HME was excited to partner with Motion, another local pediatric equipment provider, to host this valuable clinical...

NORTHFIELD, Ill. - Medline has awarded a total of $250,000 in grants to 10 nonprofit organizations through its annual Community Impact Grant programs. The grants will be evenly divided across the organizations, which are all working to address social determinants of health – the economic and social conditions that impact disparities in health status and care, as well as life expectancy. “Medline is proud to be able to aid all of these organizations with this grant,” said Karen Frey,...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Apnimed, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing oral pharmacological therapies for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea, has announced a joint venture with Shionogi & Co., a pharmaceutical company based in Japan, to develop therapies to treat OSA and other sleep disorders. The joint venture, Shionogi-Apnimed Sleep Science, combines Apnimed’s deep knowledge of OSA, highly experienced clinical-stage drug development team and robust network of...

ATLANTA – A Texas man and owner of two DME companies has pleaded guilty to conspiracy for his role in a scheme to pay illegal kickbacks, resulting in more than $20 million submitted in claims to and $11 million in payment from Medicare. According to the charges and other information presented in court, between about June 2016 and February 2019, Simon Orobor owned and operated Devotion Medical Supply and Durable Medical Supply, Inc., which provided durable medical equipment such as knee, back,...

NAMEN, Belgium – Sunrise, which has developed a chin sensor that monitors mandibular jaw movements to diagnose sleep disorders, has received an aggregate investment of $6 million from the Alexa Fund and French health care investor UI-Investissement (Majycc Innovation Santé) for a total of $24 million raised this year. “Sleep disorders are a global concern, and we're proud to be an investor in Sunrise and support their innovative approach to aid in the diagnosis of sleep-related...

DARIEN, Ill. – More than one-third of Americans have used an electronic sleep-tracking device, according to a 2023 survey from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. A majority of those who have tried a sleep tracker found it was helpful (77%) and have changed their behavior because of what they learned (68%). “As sleep trackers continue to grow in popularity, we have seen more people pay attention to their sleep quality, sleep routine and sleep duration,” said Dr. Seema Khosla,...

RICHMOND, Va. – The Owens & Minor and Hope for the Warriors (HOPE) have announced a new collaboration to help support HOPE’s clientele of U.S. service members, veterans and military families and to provide ongoing engagement opportunities for Owens & Minor teammates. The partnership will be spearheaded by the Owens & Minor Veterans Teammate Resource Group, through which active and former U.S. military service members advocate for veterans and veterans’ causes on behalf of teammates...

ATLANTA – Brett Weiner and Valerie Desalvo have pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges for their role in buying and selling fake doctors’ orders used to obtain more than $1.5 million in fraudulent payments from Medicare, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia. Weiner and Desalvo owned and operated Laboratory Marketing Services, a business in Boca Raton, Fla., that, among other things, received kickback payments in exchange for patient...

LUBBOCK, Texas – NRRTS has selected Andrea Madsen, ATP, CRTS, as its new executive director effective today, Nov. 13, replacing Weesie Walker. Madsen, who previously served as the treasurer of the organization, brings more than 20 years of experience in the health care industry to her new role. “I know Andrea will be a tremendous asset in the role of executive director and I plan to help make this transition as smooth as possible,” said Walker, ATP/SMS. Madsen has been a NRRTS registrant...