Saturday, August 1, 2009
Purchasing Decisions
"Purchasing Decisions" by dennis on August 1, 2009, 3:21 am, in category Healthcare Source REGULATIONS AND REIMBURSEMENT DOMINATE THE HEALTH CARE PURCHASING DECISION We all know that the health care is one of the most heavily regulated businesses in America. On top of that, the health care provider deals with a dizzying array of ever changing reimbursement systems; insurance, local, state and federal. By the time the health care facility manager has spent his capital equipment budget on regulatory and reimbursement driven equipment and services, there isn’t much budget left to spend on discretionary items. But, have you ever stopped to think how the regulatory and reimbursement systems impact manufacturers? Having been the head of purchasing for two different multi-billion dollar health care companies, thousands of health care products have come across my desk over the years. To deal with that volume of contacts (all of whom wanted a lot of my time) I developed some qualifying criteria based on current and pending regulatory and reimbursement guidelines. Those five categories were: Never going to be! This doesn’t mean these aren’t good products or good ideas. It means that either they don’t have a regulatory or reimbursement application or the manufacturer is selling in the wrong health care distribution channel. I believe there are four distinct health care distribution channels. Look at hospital type beds for example. There are hospital beds, long term care beds and home health (DME) beds. All these beds are, generically speaking, “hospital beds”. Yet, each style bed is pretty much worthless to the other two distribution channels. Potential! These are products that may not have current regulatory or reimbursement support but pending changes or operational efficiencies make them attractive to know about and support. I always try to keep one of these in the HealthCare Source basket of products (more on this later). Current commodity. HoHum… These are the products and manufacturers who currently have a regulatory or reimbursement niche, but are also engaged in the toxic, downward spiral of copying other manufacturers and then value engineering that product. “Value engineering”, there is a term that has become an oxymoron at the hands of some health care manufacturers. Too often the purpose of the product is lost in the process of copying and value engineering. Also, gimmicks are often proffered as solutions by these companies. Innovative Alternative! These are products developed by manufacturers who have a current regulatory or reimbursement niche, AND they are seeking/finding innovative new ways to fill the niche, AND they are constantly developing new products to be current with our ever changing industry. These are also the manufacturers who “deliver value” not “engineer” it. HealthCare Source draws the majority of its manufacturers from this category. Used to be. Due to regulatory or reimbursement changes, some products and manufacturers become obsolete. Sad, but true! So we all know that Dennis prefers to spend his time with products in the Potential and Innovative Alternative categories … get on with your story Dennis! I thought that those of you who are interested in product development, might like to keep watch on a product that MAY transition from the “Potential” category to a “double hit” regulatory AND reimbursement “Innovative Solution”. The product, Live-Vu, is a low band width, remote, medical assessment system. If you want to know more about the product you need to schedule a demo. What you need to know for this article is that this product is a unique, well tested, innovative solution. It is well channeled in the Long Term Care distribution segment, but because it did not match up to regulatory or reimbursement criteria, the manufacturer was left to fighting for that very small pool of discretionary dollars that is available at the end of the budget year. AND THEN, ALONG CAME RUGS-IV! RUGS-IV (resource utilization groups) is the new MediCare reimbursement companion to MDS 3.0. Both are scheduled to be implemented nationwide in October 2010. What is intriguing is that CMS is planning to run a demonstration test of the RUGS-IV program starting in October of this year. Four states will participate in that test program. The demonstration is called NHVBP (Nursing Home Value Based Purchasing). As I understand the program (no one really knows yet, it’s brand new), RUGS-IV is a value calculation that includes four new domains: Staffing, Appropriate Hospitalization, MDS outcomes, and survey deficiencies. Again, as I understand it, superior NHVBP ratings will pay incentive bonuses to the facilities getting superior ratings. So what is the big deal? Live-vu is a unique product that should help facilities to be 100% compliant within the “appropriate hospitalizations” domain. If true, that application hits the perfect nexus of product, regulations and reimbursement! Hey, there is a lot more to learn about the RUBS-IV and MDS 3.0 systems, and this initial assessment by HealthCare Source is based only on what we have read about the program, so far … but like I said, it will be fun to watch. I’ll keep you updated as things progress. Dennis
Monday, June 1, 2009
Wound Care - Big Market as well
Live-Vu's video for wound care is needed!
Wound Care Devices: Growth Amid Uncertainty
By Anne Staylor, Medtech Insight 1/2009
Executive Summary
Over the last 15 years, a trend toward evidence-based medicine has led to a greater understanding of the science behind wound healing. This knowledge has fueled an explosion of innovation in technology and in the commercialization of a wide range of new products, generating a worldwide market estimated at $4.5 billion annually, with double-digit growth projected over the next three to five years.
Wound Care Devices: Growth Amid Uncertainty
By Anne Staylor, Medtech Insight 1/2009
Executive Summary
Over the last 15 years, a trend toward evidence-based medicine has led to a greater understanding of the science behind wound healing. This knowledge has fueled an explosion of innovation in technology and in the commercialization of a wide range of new products, generating a worldwide market estimated at $4.5 billion annually, with double-digit growth projected over the next three to five years.
Assisted living demand skyrockets
Live-Vu's main cart/kiosk product has a great Market!
Friday, February 27, 2009 Modified: Wednesday, March 4, 2009
While real estate demand in almost every sector is flat, one sector of the market is off the charts.
The demand for assisted living will outpace the supply of available housing in the coming years, and many facilities in Silicon Valley are already near capacity, with rents ranging from $2,000 to $5,000 per month, depending on services.
Merrill Gardens LLC is capitalizing on the momentum and is set to open two new assisted living facilities in Silicon Valley. One is in the Willow Glen neighborhood of San Jose, while another is planned for the city of Campbell.
The Seattle-based operator is working closely with Barry Swenson Builder to construct the 98-unit facility in Willow Glen that is slated to open on May 1. The Campbell project
is a mixed-use community made up of 101 senior rental units for assisted living, 26 rental units not restricted by age and a separate Alzheimer’s facility. It is scheduled to open in 2011.
CEO Bill Pettit said Merrill Gardens chose Silicon Valley because there haven’t been any new facilities built here in the past decade. Between the two new projects, Pettit said the company has made a $90 million commitment in housing to this market. Merrill Gardens already has assisted living communities in Fremont, Vallejo, Sonoma and Rohnert Park, with 54 communities nationwide.
Big market
Assisted living is a $38 billion industry. Today, 1 million Americans reside in assisted living facilities, according to the National Center for Assisted Living.
Paul Williams, director of government relations with the Assisted Living Federation, said occupancy rates in assisted living have decreased somewhat — from the 90s to the high 80s — but not drastically. The average age of a resident now is 85 years old, but that is going to change.
The need for assisted living is only going to increase once baby boomers
reach that age bracket, Williams said.
Pettit adds that companies will be unable to build communities fast enough to meet the growth of the senior population.
The existing facilities in the United States can serve less than 10 percent of the current 38 million Americans over age 65, Pettit said.
“We’re adding almost 10 million seniors every year,” he said, “and with the rapid increase in seniors, the market will become increasingly competitive to find an assisted living facility.”
Pettit said Merrill Gardens is currently at 91 percent occupancy across the country.
“There’s almost no new development going on in 2009 because of the financial markets, and it takes two years before a building is ready for occupancy,” Pettit said. “Seniors who have held off because of economic conditions will be competing with other seniors when the market normalizes.”
Friday, February 27, 2009 Modified: Wednesday, March 4, 2009
While real estate demand in almost every sector is flat, one sector of the market is off the charts.
The demand for assisted living will outpace the supply of available housing in the coming years, and many facilities in Silicon Valley are already near capacity, with rents ranging from $2,000 to $5,000 per month, depending on services.
Merrill Gardens LLC is capitalizing on the momentum and is set to open two new assisted living facilities in Silicon Valley. One is in the Willow Glen neighborhood of San Jose, while another is planned for the city of Campbell.
The Seattle-based operator is working closely with Barry Swenson Builder to construct the 98-unit facility in Willow Glen that is slated to open on May 1. The Campbell project
is a mixed-use community made up of 101 senior rental units for assisted living, 26 rental units not restricted by age and a separate Alzheimer’s facility. It is scheduled to open in 2011.
CEO Bill Pettit said Merrill Gardens chose Silicon Valley because there haven’t been any new facilities built here in the past decade. Between the two new projects, Pettit said the company has made a $90 million commitment in housing to this market. Merrill Gardens already has assisted living communities in Fremont, Vallejo, Sonoma and Rohnert Park, with 54 communities nationwide.
Big market
Assisted living is a $38 billion industry. Today, 1 million Americans reside in assisted living facilities, according to the National Center for Assisted Living.
Paul Williams, director of government relations with the Assisted Living Federation, said occupancy rates in assisted living have decreased somewhat — from the 90s to the high 80s — but not drastically. The average age of a resident now is 85 years old, but that is going to change.
The need for assisted living is only going to increase once baby boomers
reach that age bracket, Williams said.
Pettit adds that companies will be unable to build communities fast enough to meet the growth of the senior population.
The existing facilities in the United States can serve less than 10 percent of the current 38 million Americans over age 65, Pettit said.
“We’re adding almost 10 million seniors every year,” he said, “and with the rapid increase in seniors, the market will become increasingly competitive to find an assisted living facility.”
Pettit said Merrill Gardens is currently at 91 percent occupancy across the country.
“There’s almost no new development going on in 2009 because of the financial markets, and it takes two years before a building is ready for occupancy,” Pettit said. “Seniors who have held off because of economic conditions will be competing with other seniors when the market normalizes.”
There's No Place Like the Home Health Care Market
Live-Vu's Home Care Kit Market!
Article preview reprinted from Start-Up - February, 2009
The market for home health care products, valued at $4.3 billion today, is one of the largest and most stable medtech markets in the US, and like most health care markets, it owes its growth to the burgeoning aging population. In the year 2010, the number of people age 65 and older in the US is expected to total more than 40.2 million, according to "US Markets for Home Health Care Products," a report recently published by the FDC-Windhover division of Elsevier Business Intelligence.
It's this growth that spawned the critical need for less expensive strategies and technologies used to care for patients sick enough to require chronic care, but healthy enough to live at home. The home market also serves younger, disabled patients who don't require hospitalization and those recovering from acute medical conditions who only need temporary or intermittent home-based medical care.
This population will only grow. As the larger elderly segment of the population ages, they'll require care. But rising health care costs have forced patients to recover from disease and injury at home rather than in an acute care or even rehabilitation setting. A dangerous shortage of facilities, nurses and other skilled health care personnel adds to the pressures and ensures strong growth in the home health care market for the foreseeable future.
The respiratory segment is the largest market in home health care, covering asthma, obstructive sleep apnea, chronic bronchitis, pneumonia, emphysema and cystic fibrosis. In the US, the home respiratory market was estimated at $1.5 billion in 2007, and is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 4% through 2012. As hospitals continue to look for ways to reduce their costs and better manage patients, new home health care respiratory therapy technology will offer clinically safe, long-term therapy alternatives.
Gaining access to the home respiratory market was part of the rationale behind the acquisition of Respironics Inc. by Royal Philips Electronics NV for $4.9 billion at the end of 2007. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in particular, is emerging as a hot growth segment, due to the enormous patient population: there are 12 million people with OSA in the US. As testament to the promise in this field, 2008 saw four acquisitions and two venture financings of sleep apnea companies. (See "Once Sluggish Sleep Apnea Gets Active," START-UP, January 2009
Article preview reprinted from Start-Up - February, 2009
The market for home health care products, valued at $4.3 billion today, is one of the largest and most stable medtech markets in the US, and like most health care markets, it owes its growth to the burgeoning aging population. In the year 2010, the number of people age 65 and older in the US is expected to total more than 40.2 million, according to "US Markets for Home Health Care Products," a report recently published by the FDC-Windhover division of Elsevier Business Intelligence.
It's this growth that spawned the critical need for less expensive strategies and technologies used to care for patients sick enough to require chronic care, but healthy enough to live at home. The home market also serves younger, disabled patients who don't require hospitalization and those recovering from acute medical conditions who only need temporary or intermittent home-based medical care.
This population will only grow. As the larger elderly segment of the population ages, they'll require care. But rising health care costs have forced patients to recover from disease and injury at home rather than in an acute care or even rehabilitation setting. A dangerous shortage of facilities, nurses and other skilled health care personnel adds to the pressures and ensures strong growth in the home health care market for the foreseeable future.
The respiratory segment is the largest market in home health care, covering asthma, obstructive sleep apnea, chronic bronchitis, pneumonia, emphysema and cystic fibrosis. In the US, the home respiratory market was estimated at $1.5 billion in 2007, and is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 4% through 2012. As hospitals continue to look for ways to reduce their costs and better manage patients, new home health care respiratory therapy technology will offer clinically safe, long-term therapy alternatives.
Gaining access to the home respiratory market was part of the rationale behind the acquisition of Respironics Inc. by Royal Philips Electronics NV for $4.9 billion at the end of 2007. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in particular, is emerging as a hot growth segment, due to the enormous patient population: there are 12 million people with OSA in the US. As testament to the promise in this field, 2008 saw four acquisitions and two venture financings of sleep apnea companies. (See "Once Sluggish Sleep Apnea Gets Active," START-UP, January 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
$215 Million to Help Rural Vets
This may be a Live-Vu kickoff! We are looking forward to working with the undersecretary to do a project in our local VISN.
$215 Million to Help Rural Vets
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The Department of Veterans Affairs has provided $215 million to improve access and quality of healthcare for veterans in rural areas. The funding will be used to support the latest technologies, to recruit and retain a well educated and trained healthcare workforce, and to collaborate with non-VA rural health community partners.
According to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki, the funds will enable the VA to establish new outpatient clinics, expand collaborations with federal and community partners, accelerate the use of telemedicine deployment, explore innovative uses of technology, and fund pilot programs.
The VISNs, VA regional healthcare networks, and VHA program offices were allowed to submit up to eight proposed projects each for funding. The proposals were prioritized and then sent to the Office of Rural Health where they were evaluated based on methodology, feasibility, and the intended impact on rural veterans. ORH then selected 74 programs where many of the programs were either national in scope or affected multiple states.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
VA's Information Tech Focus
Dr. Callaci's meeting Tuesday with the VA at the May 2009 Care Coordination and Telehealth Forms went well and shows great possibilities.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
VA's Information Tech Focus
The VA is requesting $3,307 billion for FY 2010 excluding the Recovery Act stimulus funding for $50.1 million. This is an increase of $559 million or 20 percent above 2009 to support Information and Technology.In April, President Obama along with Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Shinseki and Defense Secretary Gates, took the first step to create a Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record. The two Departments will leverage information sharing programs and infrastructure, expand existing initiatives, and implement health benefits and personnel communities as technology advances. DOD and VA are committed to achieving clinical interoperable EHR systems by September 30, 2009.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
VA's Information Tech Focus
The VA is requesting $3,307 billion for FY 2010 excluding the Recovery Act stimulus funding for $50.1 million. This is an increase of $559 million or 20 percent above 2009 to support Information and Technology.In April, President Obama along with Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Shinseki and Defense Secretary Gates, took the first step to create a Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record. The two Departments will leverage information sharing programs and infrastructure, expand existing initiatives, and implement health benefits and personnel communities as technology advances. DOD and VA are committed to achieving clinical interoperable EHR systems by September 30, 2009.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Seventy-five percent of adults believe it is very important for health care providers to use electronic health records
How Important Is It for Health Care Providers To Use Electronic Health Records?
Seventy-five percent of adults believe it is very important or somewhat important for health care providers to use electronic health records, according to a recent survey. However, 59% of adults said they are not too confident or not at all confident that their health information would remain confidential if stored electronically and shared online.
Seventy-five percent of adults believe it is very important or somewhat important for health care providers to use electronic health records, according to a recent survey. However, 59% of adults said they are not too confident or not at all confident that their health information would remain confidential if stored electronically and shared online.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
The USA is behind the rest of the World!
Live-Vu is in the right place at the right time!
Telemedicine/Telehealth Update
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
This is an amazing time and we are at the center of the storm with everyone ready to see telemedicine and telehealth move forward said Jonathan Linkous, CEO, of the American Telemedicine Association. He continued to say that telemedicine has been growing with 200 networks, at 300 sites, and 100,000 units in homes treating individuals with chronic conditions. Yet we are behind the rest of the world.
Posted by Carolyn Bloch at 3:03 PM
Telemedicine/Telehealth Update
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
This is an amazing time and we are at the center of the storm with everyone ready to see telemedicine and telehealth move forward said Jonathan Linkous, CEO, of the American Telemedicine Association. He continued to say that telemedicine has been growing with 200 networks, at 300 sites, and 100,000 units in homes treating individuals with chronic conditions. Yet we are behind the rest of the world.
Posted by Carolyn Bloch at 3:03 PM
Monday, April 20, 2009
Telemedicine can serve the critical care needs of rural communities.
Study shows that Telemedicine works for rural critical care!
eICUs Can Save Millions
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Telemedicine can serve the critical care needs of rural communities and already has saved millions of dollars while improving patient survival. Dr. Edward Zawada, Medical Director of Avera eICU® CARE, a service of Avera Health based in Sioux Falls, S.D., authored a study that found that significant financial benefits can be accomplished ranging from improved quality, less stress on rural physicians and nurses, along with higher patient and family satisfaction.The study presented at the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s annual meeting compared data before eICU implementation, and then did a comparison 30 months after implementation. The findings showed:
eICUs Can Save Millions
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Telemedicine can serve the critical care needs of rural communities and already has saved millions of dollars while improving patient survival. Dr. Edward Zawada, Medical Director of Avera eICU® CARE, a service of Avera Health based in Sioux Falls, S.D., authored a study that found that significant financial benefits can be accomplished ranging from improved quality, less stress on rural physicians and nurses, along with higher patient and family satisfaction.The study presented at the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s annual meeting compared data before eICU implementation, and then did a comparison 30 months after implementation. The findings showed:
- Rural hospitals had fewer patients requiring transfer, which represented a cost savings of more than $1.2 million
- There were shorter lengths of stay in intensive care units resulting in a saving of an estimated $8 million
- Hospital mortality rates were 65-80 percent lower than predicted after implementation of the eICU as compared to 50 percent lower than predicted before implementation
- Ninety percent of rural hospital clinical leaders reported being more comfortable caring for critically ill patients with eICU
- Ninety percent of rural hospital leaders agreed that patients and families are comfortable staying in the hospital with the added eICU care
- One hundred percent of rural physicians agreed that better and safer care can be supported by a remote critical care team
While numerous studies documented by the Leapfrog Group show that intensivist staffing reduces the risk of ICU mortality by up to 40 percent, a shortage of intensivists makes such bedside care impossible in most locations. With only about 6,000 of these specialists in practice, less than 15 percent of ICUs have dedicated intensivist care which is especially true in rural areas.
Posted by Carolyn Bloch at 12:30 PM
Friday, April 17, 2009
Global Telemedicine Market to Exceed $18 Billion by 2015
The Telemedicine market is huge and money from the Federal Government is being injected into it to make it grow faster!
According to a New Report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc.
Driven by aging population, increased medical requirements in remote locations and technology advancements, the world market for telemedicine is projected to exceed $18 billion by the year 2015. Application of telemedicine is expanding virtually across all the medical areas. Telemedicine currently finds application in majority of medical domains including radiology, cardiology, dermatology, psychiatry, dentistry, pediatrics and pathology, among others.
San Jose, California (PRWEB) April 6, 2009 -- Telemedicine, offering quality services with significant cost savings, has given a new dimension to the healthcare sector. Although telemedicine programs have been in vogue for nearly half a century, the recent health care reforms have been instrumental in promoting the increased usage of such applications. Telemedicine services are used in several medical areas including diabetes control, primary health care, psychiatry, genetics, radiology, pathology, cardiology, dermatology and pediatrics, among others. Telemedicine programs have proved cost effective, and with curtailment of health care expenditures becoming one of the major concerns, such programs are being increasingly implemented in several nations across the globe.
The US and Europe dominate the world telemedicine market, as stated by the recent report published by Global Industry Analysts, Inc. In the US, federal grants to encourage telemedicine deployment and develop telecommunications infrastructure, has been responsible for wide adoption of the technology. Moreover, growing number of multiple chronic disease patients coupled with rapidly increasing population of aging baby boomers and lack of disease management and requisite healthcare facilities are expected to propel the market for remote monitoring of patients. Consequently, increased remote monitoring of patients bodes long-term growth for the telemedicine market.
How the stimulus package affects healthcare.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) was signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009. This landmark bill sets aside approximately $180 billion in federal funding for healthcare-related spending. Included in the legislation are significant provisions for health IT to encourage physicians, hospitals, and other providers to adopt and use electronic health records as well as other technology to advance the delivery of healthcare.
This unprecedented federal funding and support for technology-enabled healthcare will permanently alter the landscape of the industry for hospitals, physicians, payers, and ultimately patients.
According to a New Report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc.
Driven by aging population, increased medical requirements in remote locations and technology advancements, the world market for telemedicine is projected to exceed $18 billion by the year 2015. Application of telemedicine is expanding virtually across all the medical areas. Telemedicine currently finds application in majority of medical domains including radiology, cardiology, dermatology, psychiatry, dentistry, pediatrics and pathology, among others.
San Jose, California (PRWEB) April 6, 2009 -- Telemedicine, offering quality services with significant cost savings, has given a new dimension to the healthcare sector. Although telemedicine programs have been in vogue for nearly half a century, the recent health care reforms have been instrumental in promoting the increased usage of such applications. Telemedicine services are used in several medical areas including diabetes control, primary health care, psychiatry, genetics, radiology, pathology, cardiology, dermatology and pediatrics, among others. Telemedicine programs have proved cost effective, and with curtailment of health care expenditures becoming one of the major concerns, such programs are being increasingly implemented in several nations across the globe.
The US and Europe dominate the world telemedicine market, as stated by the recent report published by Global Industry Analysts, Inc. In the US, federal grants to encourage telemedicine deployment and develop telecommunications infrastructure, has been responsible for wide adoption of the technology. Moreover, growing number of multiple chronic disease patients coupled with rapidly increasing population of aging baby boomers and lack of disease management and requisite healthcare facilities are expected to propel the market for remote monitoring of patients. Consequently, increased remote monitoring of patients bodes long-term growth for the telemedicine market.
How the stimulus package affects healthcare.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) was signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009. This landmark bill sets aside approximately $180 billion in federal funding for healthcare-related spending. Included in the legislation are significant provisions for health IT to encourage physicians, hospitals, and other providers to adopt and use electronic health records as well as other technology to advance the delivery of healthcare.
This unprecedented federal funding and support for technology-enabled healthcare will permanently alter the landscape of the industry for hospitals, physicians, payers, and ultimately patients.
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