The medical device industry is scrabbling to derail a proposal by Sen. Max Baucus to levy a $4 billion a year “reform contribution” on device makers as part of the healthcare reform initiative, according to news reports.
MedTech Monday: No-pressure foot scanner for diabetics
No-pressure foot scanner for diabetics:
MeDaVinci of Liverpool, England, is developing a no-pressure foot scanner to help diabetics watch for dangerous signs of infection and inflammation.
Weekly Wireless Roundup: CardioNet enhances cardiac monitoring
CardioNet enhances cardiac monitoring: CardioNet announced new features for its remote cardiac monitoring and diagnostic MCOT system to give physicians more in-depth data.
Baucus bill would see medical device makers pony up $4 billion a year
The medical device industry’s share of the healthcare reform effort would be $4 billion a year of Sen. Max Baucus gets his way.
The Senate Finance Committee chairman released a “framework” version of the committee’s healthcare reform bill that contains a “medical device manufacturers fee,” allocated by market share, of $4 billion a year beginning in 2010.
“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time such a medtech deal has been publicly disclosed in writing by a key government official,” Wells Fargo analyst Larry Biegelsen said in a note to investors Tuesday, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
MedTech Monday: vProtect luminal stent systems wins EU approval
vProtect luminal shield stent system wins EU approval: The European Union granted approval to Prescient Medical of Doylestown, Pa., to market its new catheter system for treatment of coronary lesions in patients with symptomatic ischemic heart disease.
Weekly Wireless Roundup: Microsoft HealthVault leaps out of beta
Microsoft HealthVault leaps out of beta: Late last week, Microsoft’s HealthVault platform and personal health data repository, which the company is loathe to call a personal health record, exited from “beta” status.
Haemonetics and Inverness among Barclays Swine Flu stock picks
Looking for a silver lining to that pesky pandemic?
London-based investment bank Barclays put out a note Thursday highlighting a handful of stocks poised for a boost if the H1N1 influenza virus outbreak is as serious as predicted this fall.
Using market data from the first wave of Swine Flu news back in April, analysts at Barclays came up with a list of stocks investors should consider buying and sectors to stay away from, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
Are docs the biggest obstacle to EMR adoption?
A large part of the savings President Barack Obama aims to wring from the healthcare system are predicated on widespread adoption of electronic medical records.
In fact, the initiative is so important that the Obama administration set aside $20 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and appointed an EMR czar to push doctors’ offices and hospitals to start using the systems.
But as an Ohio cardiologist and blogger, Dr. Westby Fisher, writes at MedCity.com, physicians themselves could prove to be the initiative’s biggest hurdle.
Positive Boston Scientific study results don’t translate to Wall Street gains
Boston Scientific Corp. spent the past two days touting a trio of studies of its defibrillator and stent products, which delivered generally positive results for the Natick, Mass.-based devices giant.
But the results didn’t translate into a stock price boost; after briefly flirting with its yearlong high, BSX stock fell back to earth and was trading at $11.00 as of about 12:15 p.m. Sept. 2.
Career Sampler: Open jobs in the medical device industry
By popular demand, MassDevice presents a sampling of 10 of the hundreds of open positions in the medical device industry at employers across the country. No matter your expertise or specialty, the perfect medtech job is out there waiting!
To inquire about listing an opening at your company on MassDevice.com, please email info@massdevice.com.
MedTech Monday: Humanoid robot designed to mimic humans from the inside out
Humanoid robot designed to mimic humans from the inside out: The Eccerobot, created by five European institutions, looks and moves very much like a human — if you can imagine some skin wrapped over all those wires, strings and pulleys.