Vendors

SEATTLE – Amazon has introduced Halo Rise, a multi-purpose bedside tracker to help users sleep.  The device uses built-in sensor technology to provide accurate insights and personalized sleep analysis, the company says.  “Quality sleep is an incredibly important factor in our overall health and well-being,” said Melissa Cha, vice president of Amazon Smart Home and Health. “In today’s busy world, getting more and better sleep is one of the areas...

ELYRIA, Ohio – Geoffrey Purtill, Invacare’s interim president and CEO, is the type of leader who keeps finding himself in turnaround situations and his current appointment is no different.  Purtill, who was named by the board of directors to replace Matt Monaghan in late August, has also led – and still does lead – the company’s Europe/Middle East/Africa and Asia Pacific businesses.  “When I took over APAC, it didn’t have the proper foundation...

INDIANAPOLIS – DMEscripts is at the tipping point of driving “real scale” in the number of HME providers and referral sources adopting e-prescribing, says new CEO John Brady.  Brady believes the HME industry is now in the same position as the pharmacy industry in 2008, when it came together to form Surescripts and, over the course of the next several years, reached market acceptance.  “The future of DMEscripts is all about driving transactions,” said...

ELYRIA, Ohio – Invacare announced on Sept. 29 that it has received notice from the New York Stock Exchange that the company is not in compliance because the average closing price of the company’s common shares was less than $1 per share over a consecutive 30 trading-day period.  The notice does not result in the immediate delisting of the company’s common shares from the NYSE.  Invacare plans to notify the NYSE by Oct. 7 that it intends to cure the stock price deficiency...

PITTSBURGH – Philips RS North America, formerly known as Respironics, has agreed to pay $1.28 million to settle allegations that it unlawfully induced referrals for its equipment in violation of the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute, the Department of Justice has announced.  The government specifically alleged that, between December 2015 and December 2016, Respironics helped a DME supplier procure a twelve-month, interest-free loan that was fully guaranteed by Respironics....

NORTHFIELD, Ill. – Medline has invested an additional $500 million in incremental medical supply inventory to ensure product availability and timely delivery to the healthcare providers it serves.   The investment, completed at the end of the second quarter of 2022, brings the company’s total on-hand inventory to more than $4 billion and marks another step taken by Medline to help healthcare run better despite continued industry-wide global supply chain challenges.  “Our...

SAN DIEGO – ResMed is taking another step to diversify its product offerings, as well as boost its digital health presence, with its recently announced acquisition of mementor, says CEO Mick Farrell.  mementor, which is based in Leipzig, Germany, develops and sells digital medical products and has the only permanently listed digital health application in sleep medicine that is reimbursed by statutory insurances in the country.  “As we consider opportunities to address...

PITTSBURGH – Philips Respironics is alerting users of certain CPAP or Bi-Level PAP therapy masks with magnetic headgear clips or straps that these devices should not be used by or near patients and their household members, caregivers and bed partners who have metallic implanted devices or metallic objects (such as metallic splinters) in the body.   The magnetic headgear clips are used to attach the headgear straps to the masks, a commonly used method in sleep therapy devices.  This...

AKRON, Ohio – ACU-Serve’s acquisition of ECS Billing & Consulting North gives the company a high-profile foothold in consulting and training, says CEO Jim Knight.   As part of the deal, Sarah Hanna will join ACU-Serve as vice president of consulting services, as will Kit Shellhouse, both frequent speakers at HME industry events.  “We’re really a full-service provider, with one exception: We don’t do consulting services,” Knight said. “So,...

PITTBURGH – Philips Respironics has agreed to pay more than $24 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that it misled federal health care programs by paying kickbacks to DME suppliers, the U.S. Department of Justice has announced.  The settlement resolves allegations that Respironics caused DME suppliers to submit claims for ventilators, oxygen concentrators, CPAP and BiPAP machines, and other respiratory related medical equipment that were false because the company provided...