SAN DIEGO (October 8, 2019)—Cerner Corporation, a global health platform and innovation company, and ResMed, a digital health company, announced a new collaboration agreement to help providers make more informed treatment decisions, control costs and deliver seamless care across health systems to the home.
HomeCare News
PALO ALTO, Calif. (October 8, 2019)—People Power, a software company for custom-branded consumer services for senior care, security and energy management, launched the Presence Family Care Pack—a remote senior care and family connectivity product. The intelligent solution, backed by world-leading academic research, incorporates People Power’s patent-pending machine learning algorithms to continuously learn patterns of behavior in the home.
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. (October 7, 2019)—Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare (Drive) announced on Oct. 3, that it successfully closed on its previously announced transaction, and received $35 million in new capital coupled with a reduction in cash debt service obligations from its current lenders of approximately $100 million over the next two and a half years.
FRANKLIN, Tenn. (June 28, 2019)—AdhereHealth, a health care technology company focused on medication adherence, has announced a partnership with Papa, a companionship platform company serving the elderly, blind and disabled. A growing issue for millions of Americans enrolled in Medicare are social determinants of health (SDOH) such as loneliness, food insecurity and transportation, any one of which can impede optimal health care and medication adherence.
WOOSTER, Ohio (October 1, 2019)—A study was completed with Purdue Polytechnic on expensive medical grade anti-embolism stockings. The lab performed a blind test using an Instron Stress Strain machine to samples of stockings. They tested every sample until it failed in the form of a tear. The study found the elastic to be nearly 50% stronger after cryogenic treatment to -300 degrees Fahrenheit. This treatment will help prevent snagging and running of the elastic stockings.
In celebration of 2019 Aging in Place Week Oct. 13–19, local chapters of the National Aging in Place Council will present free live seminars built around the theme of “Paying for Aging in Place.”
The purpose of the presentations will be to help close the available funding awareness gap and make sure older adults and their families are apprised of all benefits and other funding sources.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (October 3, 2019)—HME stakeholders have persuaded Indiana Medicaid authorities to hold off deep reimbursement cuts along a broad range of HME products that were scheduled to go into effect on Oct. 1. The reversal follows a vigorous response to the proposed cuts from Indiana HME suppliers, along with the Great Lakes Home Medical Services Association (Great Lakes), AAHomecare, and other industry groups.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 3, 2019)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) announced that the next state to participate in the Review Choice Demonstration (RCD) is Texas and it will begin on Dec. 2, 2019. CMS also indicated that implementation of RCD in the remaining states of North Carolina and Florida is expected to begin on March 30, 2020, as CMS is pausing implementation to allow for the transition to PDGM which begins on Jan. 1, 2020.
KENILWORTH, N.J. (October 3, 2019)—MerckManuals.com, an online medical reference, will kick off October by highlighting expert information on depression and how to recognize the disorder, a helpful resource for both professional and family caregivers.
The themed content, which will be featured on merckmanuals.com, will include:
a comprehensive essay on the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of depression
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (October 2, 2019)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a long-awaited discharge planning final rule for hospitals, critical access hospitals and home health agencies. The proposed rule was posted in November 2015, and has taken almost four years to reach the final version. It will be effective Nov. 29, 2019.
ADDISON, Texas (October 1, 2019)—Elara Caring, a provider of home health care services, announced the appointment of Scott Powers as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Powers, a health care industry veteran, will focus on completing the integration of the company, enhancing processes and leading the company’s growth objectives.
TORONTO (September 26, 2019)—PointClickCare, the market leader in cloud solutions for the long-term and post-acute care (LTPAC) and senior living sectors, recently celebrated the opening of its new office in downtown Toronto. Located at the south west corner of King St. and York St., the new office is expected to add 100 new product developer and engineer positions to the company's 1,500-person strong workforce.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 27, 2019)—Recently the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit issued findings in a closely-watched whistleblower case from Alabama (United States of America versus AseraCare, Inc.) initially brought in 2008 that was vigorously pursued by the Department of Justice under the federal False Claims Act.
DALLAS (September 24, 2019)—KanTime's Enterprise Hospice Agency Platform, announced their selection of BetterRX as their preferred pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) solution, on account of their technology and straight-forward pricing.
FAIRFIELD, Conn. (September 26, 2019)—Convexity Scientific, a medical technology company, announced this week the initial closing of a $3.5 million Series B financing. The round was led by HighCape Capital with participation from Connecticut Innovations, Benslie International, and Stonehenge Capital. The financing will help support commercial growth of the Convexity’s core product Flyp Nebulizer and adjacent innovations.
LOS ANGELES (September 27, 2019)—Arosa+LivHOME has signed an agreement to acquire LifeLinks, a provider of Aging Life Care services in Raleigh, North Carolina and Nashville, Tennesee. This marks Arosa+LivHOME’s sixth acquisition since January and entry into its sixth state, Tennessee.
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (September 27, 2019)—The Board of Certification/Accreditation (BOC) announced the establishment of a new award honoring its valued credential holders: Certificant of the Year. The award will recognize one individual per year for outstanding achievements in service, research and outreach.
LOS ANGELES (September 25, 2019)—Frontive, a new digital health company that aims to improve health management for patients and families, today announced the launch of its smart personal health platform, Frontive Health. Frontive combines its patented artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled solution with Amazon Echo's intuitive voice assistant to securely connect and organize fragmented pieces of health information to help patients and caregivers more easily adhere to care regimens.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 27, 2019)—Reps. Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-Wash.) and Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa) have sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to their House peers urging them to co-sponsor H.R. 2771, the Protecting Home Oxygen and Medical Equipment Act of 2019.
DALLAS and TORONTO (September 24, 2019)—Axxess, a home health care technology company, is partnering with Swift Medical, a provider of wound care technology, to provide thousands of home health agencies access to advanced wound care management.