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VA Launches Wound Care Telehealth Program
San Diego Veterans Affairs Medical Center has begun a pilot program that utilizes a tablet with built-in digital cameras, sensors, and computer vision software to measure and document wound size through high-resolution images, regardless of where the treatment occurs. The new program stores and transfers measurement information via a secure, cloud-based electronic repository that can be viewed remotely by clinicians and improves patient access to care and the treatment planning process, officials said. The tablets are said to be inexpensive compared to larger traditional telemedicine carts. The program has expanded into clinical settings and several other VA healthcare systems in California and Arizona, according to officials. For more information, visit www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/43121/innovative-photo-technology-saves-veterans-lives.
MiMedx Shares Reimbursement Update for Wound Care Line
Officials at MiMedx,® a biopharmaceutical company that develops and markets regenerative and therapeutic biologics utilizing human placental tissue allografts for multiple sectors of healthcare, have provided a reimbursement update for their wound care products in light of the recently issued U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) documents related to human tissue titled Regulatory Considerations for Human Cells, Tissues, and Cellular and Tissue-Based Products: Minimal Manipulation and Homologous Use (the HCT/P Guidance).
“With the publication of the venous leg ulcer (VLU) study earlier this quarter, one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit health plans serving more than three million people recently decided to add EpiFix® coverage for diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs), VLUs, and burns,” said Parker H. “Pete” Petit, chairman and chief executive officer at MiMedx. “We also added another state Medicaid with nearly two million lives adding EpiFix coverage for DFUs, VLUs, and burns. We expect many more health plans to follow suit with this type of decision in the future.”
Based on demonstrated efficacy of EpiFix in numerous randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in which EpiFix was the focus, the reimbursement coverage of EpiFix for the treatment of wounds has continued to grow over the years, officials said.
“With the issuance of the final HCT/P guidance document by the FDA, we believe the payer coverage for EpiFix will further improve,” Petit added. “The only changes we anticipate from the final HCT/P guidance are the addition of more payers covering EpiFix. Our recently published landmark, multicenter VLU clinical trial and completed DFU study, along with the rest of our compendium of clinical data, including an EpiFix comparative RCT, should further solidify MiMedx’s leadership position in the wound care market. Payers have long stated they want products that help to close wounds faster, thereby reducing hospital days and other expenses. It is important to note that the Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System Committee has assigned ‘Q’ codes for product indications as a ‘cover,’ as well as ‘wound healing’ with similar reimbursement rates. Based on product efficacy, the payers have traditionally utilized both ‘cover’ and ‘wound healing’ codes for their coverage decisions. We expect this traditional practice will be fully continued by the payers with the issuance of the final HCT/P guidance.”
For more information, visit www.mimedx.com.
New Bill Seeks HBOT Coverage for Brain Injuries
A bill that would seek to allow for hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) to military veterans living with traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been pre-filed by Rep. Stan Lee (R-Lexington). According to the Ohio County Monitor, the “Colonel Ron Ray Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment Act,” co-sponsored by Rep. Tim Moore (R-Elizabethtown), is the result of Mrs. Eunice Ray, the wife of Colonel Ronald D. Ray, the former deputy assistant secretary of defense under President Ronald Reagan, contacting Rep. Lee to discuss the desire for veterans to have access to oxygen chambers for TBI. Ray suffered combat injuries that led to TBI, according to the report, which also claims that he was denied HBOT by his insurance after being prescribed the treatment by his neurologist/psychiatrist and his general provider.
For more information on the bill, visit www.kyforward.com/tag/colonel-ron-ray-traumatic-brain-injury-treatment-act.
AHA Establishes New BP Guidelines
The American Heart Association (AHA) has set new national guidelines for blood pressure (BP) targets, suggesting that patients aim for a reduced goal of 130/80 mm Hg from 140/90 mm Hg.
The AHA and American College of Cardiology recently released the 2017 guidelines with endorsement from nine other groups, with key changes to the threshold, treatment algorithm, and BP measurement, according to a report by MedPage Today.
Normal BP remains below 120 mm Hg, but hypertension has been split into stage I (130/80-139/89 mm Hg) and stage II (140/90 mm Hg and higher), with different implications for treatment, according to the report.
For more information, visit https://hyper.ahajournals.org/content/guidelines2017.
Covalon Technologies Names New Board Member
Covalon Technologies, an internationally based advanced medical technologies company, has named Major General (Ret.) Gale S. Pollock, CRNA, FACHE, FAAN, as a member of its board of directors, company officials recently announced.
Pollock is a two-star general who retired in 2008 after 36 years of service in the U.S. Army. She also held the position of acting surgeon general of the U.S. Army and was the first woman (and the first non-physician) to serve in this role in any of the country’s military services. In this capacity, Pollock was responsible for a worldwide 24/7 medical operation with a budget of $9.7 billion and a staffing complement of approximately 6,500 people.
“I am very excited to join Covalon’s board of directors,” Pollock said in a prepared statement. “Covalon has proven that it has a number of unique infection control and advanced wound care technologies that are just beginning to gain traction in the global marketplace. At the same time, Covalon has a number of extremely exciting technologies in the lab waiting to be commercialized.”
While in the U.S. Army, Pollock served as the 22nd chief of the nurse corps.
Pollock presently serves on multiple advisory boards and is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives, the American Academy of Nursing, and the National Board of Corporate Directors.
In 2008, Pollock established the Louis J. Fox Center for Vision Restoration and was an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh schools of medicine and nursing. In 2011, she became a Harvard University fellow in the Advanced Leadership Initiative program.
Pollock holds master’s degrees in business, healthcare administration, and national security and strategy. She has also received an honorary doctorate from the University of Maryland.
Reimbursement Library From A to Z
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