Archive: September 2015

DENVER, Colo. - YouCan TooCan Home Medical Supply has opened a new store in Colorado Springs, it announced today. The 2,500-square-foot store offers scooters, wheelchairs, lift chairs, respiratory equipment and aids to daily living. The store is owned by Marvin Holland, who acquired it in November 2014.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The National Community Pharmacists Association has launched a five-part video series that looks at how community pharmacies can adapt to changing healthcare models and improve patient care. Topics include the role of technology, marketing, and new models of payment, according to a press release. “Pharmacy is changing and the shift toward quality standards and value-based patient care presents opportunities, as well as challenges,” said NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey. “Community...

WINAMAC, Ind. - BraunAbility has signed an agreement to sell to Patricia Industries, a division of Stockholm, Sweden-based Investor AB. BraunAbility will join Permobil on Patricia Industries' roster of “high-quality, high-growth” companies, according to a press release. “With the support of Patricia Industries, we will be positioned to accelerate our rate of growth, powered by product innovation, development of our brand promise within the communities we serve and continued...

Brightree's electronic health record solution for home health and hospice has been selected by Merida Health Care Group. Merida already uses Brightree's solution for HME…The American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association has announced the winners of its annual student poster awards: Tyler Klenow has received the Otto and Lucille Becker Award for his orthotic abstract, “A Functional Comparison of Carbon Fiber AFO and Two Modular KAFO Conditions Using Outcome Measures in a Veteran Subject with...

ARLINGTON, Va. - The Craig H. Nielsen Foundation has awarded a one-year, $49,000 grant to Barbara Crane and Laura Cohen to develop and deploy a seating and wheeled mobility training curriculum for entry level physical therapists and physical therapy assistants, and for continuing education for practicing clinicians. “There are limited training opportunities for professionals to gain the skills needed to prescribe a wheelchair effectively, particularly at the pre-professional level,” a...

A  new enforcement of quantity details on detailed written orders for enteral nutrition is manifesting in claim denials.CGS recently updated the language on the enteral documentation checklist (as of Jan. 27, 2015) that mentions a new description for quantity on the detailed written order to be represented on a “per-fill” basis. This is new terminology and a compliance expectation that CGS and other MACs are now beginning to enforce.We have not seen these quantity errors in prior...

In our professional life, most of us have been exposed to the definition of insanity. As the home and durable medical equipment industry manages multiple challenges within the sector, one constant remains true: we chase paper. This workflow is simply unsustainable and no longer a viable option to managing physician orders, documentation, audits and additional payer requirements. By manually managing paper, faxes and phone calls, our industry produces insufficient insight and data related to patient...

WASHINGTON - The Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals plans to expand its Settlement Conference Facilitation pilot project and stakeholders hope the agency will make it more widely accessible. Right now, to participate in the pilot project, providers must have a minimum of 20 claims or $10,000 in controversy; must appeal all claims for the same service; and must have filed the claims in 2013—none of which can be currently assigned to a judge. Due to these strict criteria, very few...

This is exactly the situation that we said would happen with this type of model that limits providers and limits access to care (“Chaos erupts as Univita loses biz,” September 2015 ).We need to get this story out to Congress and to state Medicaids across the country. Our words mean nothing to them; however, the result of this bankruptcy should resonate loud and clear that the train needs to stop rolling down the track because the only light at the end of the tunnel is the train!We need...

YARMOUTH, Maine - MedCare Equipment Company of Greensburg, Pa., has taken home the top prize in this year's HME Excellence Awards.John Sphon, CEO, and Patty Mastandrea, COO, were on hand at the HME News Business Summit, Sept. 13-15, in Nashville to accept their award.This year's judges, Miriam Lieber, Jonathan Sadock and Anna McDevitt, commended MedCare for its strong financials amid so much upheaval in the HME industry.Mastandrea told HME News that solid business principles are the foundation of...