HomeCare News

STOUGHTON, Mass. (February 2, 2018)—Medical Specialties Distributors (MSD) held their second annual Healthcare Innovation & Technology Conference, Better Together, January 22—26 at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (February 1, 2018)—Netsmart announced it has acquired HomeCare Accounting Solutions (HAS), a cloud-based software company that automates back-office and clinical field operations of homecare agencies such as home health, hospice, palliative care and private duty. 

ATLANTA (February 1, 2018)—Navicure and ZirMed, two providers of revenue cycle technology, who merged in November 2017, announced the combined organization will operate under the new name Waystar. Waystar simplifies and unifies the health care revenue cycle with innovative technology that empowers clients to collect more with less cost and less stress, so they can focus on their goals, patients and communities.

COLUMBIA, Md. (February 1, 2018)—Maxim Healthcare Services, a provider of home health care, health care staffing, personal caregiving services, behavioral care and population health and wellness services, announced the appointment of Kellie Lanier as senior vice president of Clinical Operations.

WATERLOO, Iowa (January 31, 2018)—VGM Group, Inc. announced the official release of its latest playbook, Industry Snapshots: Forecasting 2018.

The playbook is the first in a series of comprehensive, downloadable resources that will highlight issues, trends and opportunities facing the HME community.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 31, 2018)—With H.R. 4229 under consideration in the House, it’s natural that HME stakeholders are focusing much of their attention on increasing the co-sponsor rolls (now at 116 co-sponsors) for that legislation.

You are Still More Likely to Die In a Hospital on the Weekend

LAS VEGAS (January 26, 2018)—Early registration rates for Medtrade Spring are in effect until Wednesday, January 31. The Spring version of the nation’s premiere HME trade show is scheduled for March 27-29, 2018, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 26, 2018)—On Wednesday, January 25, the U.S. Senate confirmed Alex Azar to serve as the new Health and Human Services secretary by a vote of 55-43.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 25, 2018)—Last Friday, AAHomecare attended the first Provider Compliance Focus Group meeting held at CMS’s main campus in Baltimore. This was an opportunity for Medicare stakeholders to engage in a conversation with CMS on a variety of compliance related issues. AAHomecare and several Regulatory Council members spoke to CMS on:

SAN DIEGO (January 25, 2018)—Switching from positive airway pressure (PAP) to adaptive servo ventilation (ASV) therapy can help patients with central sleep apnea be more adherent on therapy, according to a ResMed-funded study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (JCSM).

The study analyzed anonymous, aggregated data from the devices of 198,890 telemonitored U.S. patients with treatment-emergent central sleep apnea who started on PAP therapy, and found that:

WASHINGTON, D.C.(January 24, 2018)—The Senate confirmed the nomination of Alex Azar as head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday.

The Senate voted 55–43 in favor of Azar’s appointment.

Azar is a veteran of HHS, having served for two years as the deputy secretary, and prior to that as general counsel of the department. From 2012–2017, Azar was head of the U.S. division of Eli Lilly and Company, a pharmaceuticals manufacturer.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 24, 2018)—This afternoon, the U.S. Senate confirmed Alex Azar to serve as Secretary of the Dept. of Health & Human Services by a vote of 55–43.

Statement on today's confirmation from Tom Ryan, president and CEO of the American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare):

HAMDEN, Ct., and DALLAS, Texas (January 24, 2018)—A new partnership in the home health industry from consulting and software expertise will enable thousands more agencies access to revenue management tools to help contain costs and grow business.

NEW YORK (January 23, 2018)—Swift Shift, a mobile-first workforce management platform for the home health care industry, is launching Boost—a recruitment solution for home health care agencies to address the nursing shortage. Boost helps agencies re-engage their inactive workforce with targeted, relevant cases, thereby shortening the recruitment funnel.

BANNOCKBURN, Ill. (January 22, 2018)—Option Care Enterprises, Inc., an independent provider of home and alternate site infusion services, is presenting data highlighting the importance of clinical excellence in nutrition support at the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) 2018 Nutrition Science & Practice Conference.

Homecare Agencies Often Wrongly Deny Medicare Help to the Chronically Ill
A leading industry group contends that Medicare's home health care policies are often misconstrued. (Susan Jaffe/Kaiser Health News/NPR Health Shots)

ATLANTA (January 18, 2018)—Medtrade organizers are looking for experts with a willingness to share their successes and struggles. Consultants and providers with the kind of experience that can help others are invited to apply to speak at Medtrade 2018, scheduled for Oct 15–17, 2018, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

OGDEN, Utah (January 18, 2018)—Freeus, LLC, one of the fastest growing mobile personal emergency response system (mPERS) businesses in the United States, announced that new business account executive Arthur A. Von Ahnen will present a session at IoT Evolution Health, taking place January 22–25, 2018, in Orlando, Florida.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (January 17, 2018)—The powerful movement of women empowering other women is at it again, thanks to a new partnership with Cure Medical. The Rollettes, a wheelchair dance team, founded by Chelsie Hill in 2012 based out of Los Angeles, CA, is making waves with its latest collaboration.