HME News is the monthly business newspaper for home medical equipment providers. This controlled circulation publication reaches 17,100 home medical equipment services providers, including traditional HME dealers & suppliers, hospital- and pharmacy-o
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■ ■ Invacare's Niraj Patel says HomeFill business has been "heavy" the past few months. See story this page. Drive Medical buys DeVilbiss Healthcare 1 Special look at transflling technology 20 Roscoe Medical adopts MAP policy for Viverity 20 Quantum Rehab offers direct line to corporate 21 Vendors 20 hme news / august 2015 / www.hmenews.com Briefs Invacare sells rentals biz ELYRIA, Ohio – Invacare has sold its device rentals business for long-term care facilities. The business, comprised of Invacare Out- comes Management and Dynamic Medical Systems, sold for $15.5 million in cash. The buyer was not disclosed. The deal will al- low Invacare, which has struggled under the weight of a consent decree with the Food and Drug Administration, to refocus on its core businesses, says Matthew Monaghan, president and CEO. mixon, citing 'health challenges,' retires ELYRIA, Ohio – Invacare founder Mal Mixon re- tired from the company's board of directors effective June 30. "After much consideration, I have made the decision to retire from the In- vacare board of directors to deal with recent health challenges," Mixon stated in a press release. "I am very pleased with the transi- tion of leadership to Matt Monaghan. I am confdent in the future of the organization." golden unveils website OLD FORGE, Pa. – Golden Technologies has launched a new, mobile-friendly website. The site features a link on every product page where a consumer can click, fll out a brief form, and the information will be sent to the nearest Golden Flagship Retailer. "We are al- ways looking at ways to drive traffc to our retailers," said Patricia O'Brien, director of marketing and merchandising. The new site also features product accessory buttons that link to specifc fabric upgrades and acces- sory options for each lift chair. new entrant ready to ship TONAWANDA, N.Y. – The new ROVI X3 power base with Motion Concepts power position- ing is ready to ship. The wheelchair from ROVI Mobility, a division of Shoprider, and Motion Concepts, is initially being offered in the K0856 and K0861 codes. Shoprider an- nounced plans to enter the complex rehab market in September 2013. universal software completes expansion DAVISON, Mich. – Universal Software Solutions has completed the renovation and expan- sion of its corporate headquarters to accom- modate growth. The software company has reconstructed the upper foor of its building into useable offce space and a reorganized customer service department. Universal Software says it is looking to hire developers, software trainers and sales account execu- tives "at an aggressive rate." Bmc medical wins case BEIJING – BMC Medical has won an overseas patent infringement case against ResMed, the company says. During an Oct. 23, 2014, hearing, the Court of Munich I lifted a prelimi- nary injunction against BMC Medical "based on the considerably uncertain patentabil- ity of ResMed's patent," according to BMC. ResMed fled an appeal, but the decision was upheld. What's the opportunity in transfilling? special report on oXYGen Word on the street HomeFill is a 'growth target' Invacare says ROSCOE MEDICAL PUTS RETAIL ON THE MAP T R A N S F I L L s e e n e x t pa g e By Liz BeauLieu, editor I nvacare's recent disclo- sure that it lost a signifcant order for HomeFill oxygen systems by a national account in 2014 is likely a one-off, with manufacturers of transfilling technology reporting demand has been healthy. Invacare saw a spike in sales for HomeFill in 2013, when a national account converted to the transflling technology, but it was a "one-time, big order," says Lara Mahoney, director of investor relations and corporate communications for Invacare. "so when we compare 2014 to 2013, we had to make note of that in our earnings," she said. While Invacare wouldn't dis- close the identity of the national account, apria Healthcare was the top provider of K0738 in 2013, collecting $2.7 million in By Liz BeauLieu, editor T He tecHnoLogy has been around for more than a decade, but there are still wild swings in provider opinion on transflling. on one end, there are pro- viders like Woody o'neal, who has more than 90% of his ambulatory patients on transflling technology. "We've used a very direct strategic deployment of this technology to eliminate the costs associated with main- taining an oxygen patient over a long period of time," said o'neal, vice president of based o2 neal Medical in Pel- ham, ala. "I don't know how, By Liz BeauLieu, editor PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. – HMe pro- viders looking to offer transflling devices to their patients will have another option coming soon. Drive Medical is beta-testing its Pure Fill and plans to release the transflling device in the late third quarter. "the industry is excited for By Liz BeauLieu, editor STRONGSVILLE, Ohio – roscoe Med- ical has implemented a mini- mum advertised pricing policy to protect its viverity brand of retail products a little over a year after acquiring it from revolution Mobility. the company implemented the MaP policy on June 1 for viverity's product lines in aids to daily living, bath safety and accessories, breast pumps, mobility and personal care. "We have an appreciation for the costs involved in doing retail, like overhead, expertise and follow up," said ryan Moore, v i c e p re s i d e n t of sales. "that's w h y w e n e e d this kind of price protection." roscoe Medi- cal follows Inva- care, which implemented a MaP policy in July of last year. (When contacted for an update, Judy Kovacs, Invacare's vice president of sales operations and cus- tomer service, said: "Inva- care is happy with our another man- ufacturer to come out with another trans- fill modality for oxygen," s a i d M i t c h yoel, execu- tive vice pres- ident of Drive Medical. "there are few players in this space and another player can only be positive for the pro- vider community and for the technology itself. It pushes man- ufacturers to improve." other players in this space include Invacare (HomeFill); Devilbiss Healthcare, which is now part of Drive Medical (iFill) and Philips respironics (Ultra- Fill). With Drive Medical about to enter this market, here are a few observations from where yoel sits. transfIllIng Vs. Poc Pocs may have made the larg- est gains from 2009-13, but yoel sees utilization for this technology leveling off. "I think there are more Drive Medical's pure play transfll device Medicare spending on portable oxygen concentrators sky- rocketed from 2009-13 to $22 7 million, according to the HME Databank Medicare spending on transflling devices reached about $24 million in 2013, according to the HME Databank Mitch Yoel Ryan Moore S T R E E T s e e n e x t pa g e D R I V E s e e n e x t pa g e R O S c O E s e e n e x t pa g e Total reimbursement for E1392 Total reimbursement for K0738