Via AAHomecare, WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 11, 2018)—AAHomecare met with HHS Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan and other HHS/CMS officials to discuss the status of HME-related regulations and policy. AAHomecare’s Tom Ryan and Jay Witter were joined in the meeting by Cara Bachenheimer of Invacare and Christian Springer of Foley Hoag. Principal subjects addressed included:
WATERLOO, Iowa (April 11, 2018)—VGM has launched a new podcast series as another medium to share content with DMEPOS stakeholders.
The weekly series, Industry Matters, is hosted by Collin Brecher of VGM’s Government Relations division, and will feature interviews with a variety of thought leaders from VGM and other organizations and businesses.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (April 10, 2018)—This week, hundreds of community pharmacists will converge on Capitol Hill for two days. They will share with members of Congress a prescription for lowering drug costs and expanding pharmacy access and choice for seniors during the National Community Pharmacists Association’s 2018 Congressional Pharmacy Summit.
MIDDLETOWN, N.J. and OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (April 9, 2018)—BBMK Technologies, the inventor of cloud-based solution, NikoHealth, announces that it has entered into an agreement with Allegiance Group, a firm specializing in strategies to improve private pay collections in the homecare and durable medical equipment markets, as an integrated solution provider (ISP).
Via AAHomecare, WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 4, 2018)—At their recent meeting at Medtrade Spring in Las Vegas, AAHomecare’s Executive Committee approved plans to go forward with a project to examine electronic prescription (e-prescribing) platforms and to help promote adoption and acceptance of e-prescribing within the home medical equipment community.
Via CMS, WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 3, 2018)—Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized polices for Medicare health and drug plans for 2019 that will save Medicare beneficiaries money on prescription drugs while offering additional plan choices.
TAMPA, Fla. (April 3, 2018)—New research released by WellCare Health Plans, Inc. and the University of South Florida, and published in The American Journal of Accountable Care (AJAC) examined how WellCare CommUnity Liaisons, a new social-support person role, can effectively use their own personal experiences to provide social support to study participants (callers) experiencing a broad array of stressful life circumstances such as homelessness, food insecurity and financial difficulty.
WATERLOO, Iowa (April 3, 2018)—It has been more than eight months since 12-year-old Alec Gotto inspired a nation when he led his 1,556 pound steer, JD (short for John Deere) in his power wheelchair to win not only the People’s Choice Award, but the hearts of many new friends during the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines.
SAN DIEGO (April 2, 2018)—ResMed announced the hire of its first chief technology officer (CTO), Bobby Ghoshal.
As CTO, Ghoshal will lead ResMed’s global health care informatics and data analytics team to drive its cloud-based digital health platforms, as well as investments in emerging health technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning.
LAS VEGAS (March 29, 2018)—Medtrade Spring 2018 attendees voted on their favorite new products in the long-running New Product Pavilion Providers’ Choice Awards, sponsored by HomeCare Magazine. Top vote getters at the Spring version of the nation’s premiere HME-focused trade show were:
WATERLOO, Iowa (March 28, 2018)—VGM recently helped solidify an important win for providers of sleep-related equipment in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia.
VGM took action after members raised concerns over a letter received from CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. In the letter, CareFirst notified providers of its intentions to reduce the number of durable medical equipment providers participating in the network authorized to dispense CPAP equipment.
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (March 27, 2018) –The Board of Certification/Accreditation (BOC) is a winner in this year’s prestigious Stevie Awards competition for Innovation in Customer Service. This award marks the organization’s eighth consecutive Stevie Award.
WASHINGTON (March 27, 2018)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the continued recognition of the Community Health Accreditation Partner (CHAP)'s home health accreditation for use by home health agencies to demonstrate compliance with the Medicare home health Conditions of Participation (CoP). The renewal of CHAP's recognition is effective through March 31, 2024. The announcement is published in the Federal Register Vol.83, No. 57/Friday March 23 2018 pp.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (March 27, 2018)—The Prometheus Group, a provider of home medical equipment (HME) revenue cycle management services, announced its rebranding to Prochant. Along with the new name, the company now has a new logo, refreshed graphics, a new website and updated messaging. Prochant made its debut at Medtrade Spring in Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS (March 27, 2018)—At Medtrade Spring in Las Vegas, Nevada (March 27-29), Royal Philips, a provider of health technology, announced the launch of DreamWear Full face, the third mask option available for its award-winning DreamWear mask system. Philips Respironics used the company’s proprietary design tools to analyze facial data from thousands of 3D scans to create a design that prevents red marks, discomfort, and irritation on the nose bridge.
NEW YORK and CAESAREA, Israel (March 26, 2018)—Digital health company DarioHealth Corp. received FDA pre-market notification (510(k)) clearance for the company’s Lightning-enabled (3.5mm headphone jack) version of the Dario Blood Glucose Monitoring System. This news opens a significant U.S. market opportunity and enables the use of the Dario app on iPhone 7, 8 and X smart mobile devices (SMD).
BALL GROUND, Ga. (March 26, 2018)—CAIRE Inc. was accredited by Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) for the services of delivering health care oxygen therapy products and services to consumers.
What Happens When an Algorithm Cuts Your Health Care
A computer program in Arkansas cut care to Medicaid recipients. (Colin Lecher/The Verge)
