Tag: Oxygen Concentrator

LONDON and PLANO, Texas – Belluscura has secured a marketing agreement with the popular website GoodRx to increase direct-to-consumer sales of its X-PLOR portable oxygen concentrator.  Santa Monica, Calif.-based GoodRx operates www.goodrx.com and a mobile app that allow users to compare drug prices and get free coupons that they can use at the pharmacy. The company, which also operates a telehealth platform, estimates it has helped Americans save $35 billion on health care and prescription...

DEERFIELD, Ill. – Baxter International has issued an urgent medical device correction for the Life2000 ventilation system due to the potential for patient oxygen desaturation (low blood oxygen) events that may occur under certain conditions when the system is connected with a third-party oxygen concentrator. Low oxygen saturation may lead to symptoms like shortness of breath, confusion, rapid heart rate or bluish skin. Among the most vulnerable patients, death, life-threatening events or permanent...

SARASOTA, Fla. - React Health subsidiary Ventec Systems has acquired Invacare’s respiratory assets.  Invacare announced late last year that it would be exiting the respiratory market.  “With this acquisition, React Health is well positioned to continue to support the end-to-end care of patients with cardiology, sleep and respiratory illnesses, in partnership with physicians and providers of diagnostic and needed therapies,” said Tom Pontzius, president of operations...

WASHINGTON – Patient access to in-home respiratory care may be negatively impacted if a shortage in semiconductor chips is not addressed, warns the Council for Council for Quality Respiratory Care.  In a March 15 letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, CQRC and nine other respiratory care stakeholders urge the administration to use its authority to help address the shortage of semiconductor chips used in home...

I got a reminder recently that I’ve been meaning to log into the HME Databank to see the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on utilization for respiratory equipment, particularly ventilators and oxygen concentrators.  The Databank, if you’re not familiar, is a database of Medicare data on some of the most popular DMEPOS codes. It includes total Medicare spend by code for all the codes included in the competitive bidding program and more. The most recent year for which it has data:...

DOWNEY, Calif. – SuperCare Health recently coordinated the shipment of more than 300 oxygen concentrators to India, where the health care system is buckling under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.  “With California being the melting pot it is, a lot of doctors here have roots in India,” said Paula Dahl, executive vice president of strategy and business development. “A couple reached out to ask if they could purchase oxygen concentrators from us.”  SuperCare...

ST. PETERSBURGH, Fla. – Lifestyle Mobility Aids is changing its name to Rhythm Healthcare to better reflect the clinically complex nature of its products. The new name is also a nod to the company’s relationship with customers, says Doug Francis, president and CEO. “The new company name is meant to point toward the operating rhythm that exists between our provider partners and us,” he said. “Because we don’t connect directly with the consumer, there’s a real...

Being the recipient of Google Alerts for “oxygen concentrator” is a scary and sad place to be right now.  I have these alerts set up for a number of key terms in the HME industry – think “sleep therapy” and “home infusion” and “AdaptHealth” and “Invacare.” They’re delivered to my email inbox every afternoon.  Recent alerts for “oxygen concentrator” have been almost exclusively related to...

ELYRIA, Ohio – Invacare saw a 72.2% increase in respiratory sales for the fourth quarter in North America and a 40.1% increase for 2020 due to increased demand for oxygen concentrators during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Invacare reported $18.7 million in net sales for respiratory products in the fourth quarter and $72.3 million for 2020.  “We see high demand for all modalities of oxygen increasing,” said Matthew...

WASHINGTON – A consumer warning from the Food and Drug Administration urging against using oxygen concentrators without a prescription has resulted in some interesting calls for HME providers.  Portable Oxygen Solutions, an online provider of POCs and accessories, saw an uptick last March in people wanting to buy POCs for themselves or family members, says Todd Flesch, co-founder of the Charlotte, N.C.-based company.  “On calls, when we explained...