Earlier this month, Covidien, formerly Tyco Healthcare, announced that it had separated from Tyco International to become an independent $10 billion health care company.
Earlier this week, the company formerly known as Sunrise Medical announced the appointment of Michael Cannizzaro to vice chairman, president, and CEO. He also joins the company's board of directors.
Last Monday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) hosted a special bidders conference to address some technical issues with the Competitive Bid Submission System (CBSS).
On July 2, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt announced a two-year effort designed to further protect Medicare beneficiaries from fraudulent DME suppliers. The initiative immediately effects two regions of the country where there is a high concentration of suppliers: South Florida and Southern California. Based on the results of the project, it could be expanded nationwide.
A new data analysis, conducted by Avalere Health, shows impending cuts to Medicare's home oxygen benefit are much deeper than anticipated, totaling $710 million in 2009 and $855 million in 2010.
According to a new Frost & Sullivan report — U.S. COPD Market: Therapeutic Overview and Patient Outlook — COPD remains one of the leading under-diagnosed diseases. The report indicated that while approximately 13.6 million Americans have been diagnosed with COPD, an estimated additional 15 million Americans have the disease but remain undiagnosed. According to the National Institute of Health, COPD is currently the fourth-leading cause of death in the United States and is expected to ascend to the third position by 2020.
Rising fuel prices have contributed to increased power costs, placing a burden on the oxygen user. According to a 2005 report by the nonprofit Edison Foundation, fuel and purchased power expense growth contributed to a 22-percent increase in utility expenses from 2002 to 2005.
Researchers have found that patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have higher levels of a type of dead cells (apoptotic cells) from the lining (endothelium) of their blood vessels circulating in their bloodstream than people who do not have OSA. The finding, published in the June 1 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, a publication of the American Thoracic Society, may help explain why those with OSA are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD).
The American Association for Homecare reported a successful showing at the Washington Legislative Conference June 5-7. More than 225 home care providers, patients and stakeholders attended.
In accepting an award for public policy on the opening day of the 21st Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS), Dr. Andrew Jamieson said that sleep now has “a bedroom in the house of medicine.” His words were echoed by the number of attendees, new findings, educational seminars and posters at this year’s SLEEP 2007.
Obstructive sleep apnea increases a person’s risk of having a heart attack or dying by 30 percent over a period of four to five years, according to a study presented at the American Thoracic Society 2007 International Conference.
Though the members of the Sleep Manufacturers Alliance (SMA), a coalition of sleep product manufacturers, are by all accounts competitors, that fact wasn’t evident at a cocktail reception at the Hilton on the first day of SLEEP 2007.
Sunrise Medical has separated into two organizations — Sunrise Mobility and DeVilbiss Healthcare. The respiratory-focused DeVilbiss will concentrate efforts on developing, designing, manufacturing and selling DeVilbiss respiratory products and servicing customers.
A survey released by the National Consumers League (NCL) shows that Americans with asthma are not exactly breathing easy these days. Four in 10 people with asthma understand asthma medication categories somewhat or not at all; and the more recent the diagnosis, the less knowledgeable adult patients tend to be about asthma.
Treatment with a commonly used drug — salmeterol/fluticasone propionate, or Advair — slows the decline in lung function in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to results from the TORCH (Towards a Revolution in COPD Health) study presented at the American Thoracic Society 2007 International Conference.
On Tuesday, a lawsuit was filed in federal court against the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to stop competitive bidding. The suit, filed in the Dallas Division of the U.S. District Court for the Northern Division of Texas, claims the competitive bidding program is illegally discriminatory in its effect on both beneficiaries and providers.
