NORTH BILLERICA, Mass. (August 11, 2022)—Breas Medical USA announces the release and immediate availability of the Xpac by Breas extended life battery. The Xpac enhances ventilator dependent patient mobility with boost of battery life of the Breas Vivo 50 and Vivo 65 by 12 hours and the Vivo 45 LS by 18 hours. With Xpac, the ultra-compact and lightweight Vivo 45 LS can now run 25.5 hours off the grid.
ventilators
NORTH BILLERICA, Mass. & ROCKTON, On. (June 29, 2022)—Breas Medical USA and McArthur Medical Sales announced a Canadian distribution partnership for the Breas Medical’s Vivo 1-2-3 family of Bi-level devices and a full line of Breas Vivo accessories.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (June 24, 2022)—The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced this week that it has upgraded the recall of the Baxter Volara system to a Class I event, the most serious category. Baxter Healthcare Corporation and its subsidiary company Hillrom issued the recall in late April following two reported deaths and one injury.
AMSTERDAM (May 24, 2022)—Philips Respironics saw a sharp increase in medical device reports (MDRs) following the company’s voluntary recall of certain CPAP, BiPAP and mechanical ventilators, the company said in a recent press release. A MDR is one of the surveillance tools the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) uses to monitor device performance, detect potential device-related safety issues and contribute to benefit-risk assessments of these products.
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BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (January 27, 2022)—The Food and Drug Administration has expanded Philips Respironics’ product recall, adding the Trilogy Evo ventilator and muffler repair kits to the list—and declared it a level 1 recall, the most severe.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (November 16, 2021)—During a recent plant inspection, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) found that silicone-based foam Philips Respironics planned to use to repair recalled CPAP and ventilator devices had failed a safety test for volatile organic compounds.
Recalls, reimbursement, remote data & referrals all changing the landscape
BOTHELL, Wash. (September 28, 2021)—Ventec Life Systems, a global medical device company focused on redefining respiratory care technologies for patients and caregivers announced that Parachute Health’s e-prescribing platform now supports the VOCSN group of ventilators.
BATON ROUGE, La. (August 24, 2021)—Louisiana home medical equipment (HME) providers now have more protection against payment caps for home ventilation services.
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BATON ROUGE, La. (May 21, 2021)—In a victory for home ventilator providers, the Louisiana House of Representative passed HB 594 on Wednesday, May 19, 2021. The legislation prevents insurers, MCOs and other payers from setting reimbursement caps for ventilators.
BOTHELL, Wash. (March 10, 2021)—Ventec Life Systems announced that its board of directors has appointed Jim Alwan as president and CEO, effective March 15, 2021. Alwan will also serve as a member of the Ventec board of directors.
KOKOMO, Indiana (September 3, 2020)–Ventec Life Systems announced it delivered its 30,000th V+Pro critical care ventilator to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services yesterday in partnership with General Motors.
BOTHELL, Wash. (June 10, 2020)—On May 29, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its policy for HCPCS E0467 (Multi-Function Ventilator) removing “same or similar” restrictions and paving the way for increased access to integrated respiratory care for ventilator users regardless of their device billing history.
Liz Szabo, Kaiser Health News
Doctors are fighting not only to save lives from COVID-19, but also to protect patients’ brains.
By Judith Graham
DENVER ― Last month, Minna Buck revised a document specifying her wishes should she become critically ill.
“No intubation,” she wrote in large letters on the form, making sure to include the date and her initials.
Buck, 91, had been following the news about COVID-19. She knew her chances of surviving a serious bout of the illness were slim. And she wanted to make sure she wouldn’t be put on a ventilator under any circumstances.
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