HIDA Government Affairs Update By Linda Rouse O’Neill, Vice President, Government Affairs More than 70 HIDA members and their manufacturer partners went to Washington, D.C., in early June to educate lawmakers on key issues affecting the healthcare supply chain. Attendees at the annual HIDA Washington Summit conducted 130 Capitol Hill meetings, including twice as many … [Read more...]
Health plan waives cost for chronic-care meds
A health plan in Massachusetts has begun offering a program that waives co-pays for 11 common prescription medications that treat chronic conditions, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease and depression. The program will be offered by Neighborhood Health Plan on a selection of commercial plan designs for large employer customers. Neighborhood Health Plan … [Read more...]
Medical Products Key For Improving Post-Acute CMS Star Ratings
By Ann Peters, Manager, Research & Analytics, HIDA Post-acute providers are highly focused on attaining an excellent score under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) five-star rating system, according to HIDA’s 2018 Provider Survey: The Impact Of Five-Star. This survey of skilled nursing facility (SNF) owners, chief executives, and administrators looks … [Read more...]
Healthy Reps
Gender disparities in care Research on disparities between how women and men are treated in medical settings is growing – and it is concerning for any woman seeking care, reports The New York Times. Research shows that both doctors and nurses prescribe less pain medication to women than men after surgery, even though women report more frequent and severe pain levels. And a … [Read more...]
Big Time
Selling equipment to today’s consolidated customers It’s no mystery why many hospital systems and multisite physician clinics want to standardize equipment selection and purchasing. There are economies of scale, the desire to connect multiple sites to an electronic medical record, the benefit of ensuring that staff are proficient on the equipment used at all sites, … [Read more...]
Primary Care at Home
The Independence at Home Demonstration Project Editor’s note: Demographics are changing. Venues of care are changing. Reps’ call points and the products in their bags are changing too. With this issue, Repertoire begins a series of articles on chronic care management. Chronic diseases and conditions – such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, type 2 diabetes, chronic … [Read more...]