House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the U.S. Senate’s vote to delay a Medicare reimbursement rate cut last week “a great disappointment,” spraying a dash of cold water on hopes that the House would approve the stay this week.
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Former Medtronic executive gets top spot at Colorado spine firm
By Thomas Lee
Michael DeMane joined Lanx Inc. as chairman and CEO. The former chief operating officer at Medtronic Inc. (NYSE:MDT) was once thought to be a top candidate to lead the firm.
Lanx, based in Broomfield, Colorado, makes devices for spinal surgeries. Investors include Chicago Growth Partners, Goldman Sachs Private Equity Opportunities Fund, Noro-Moseley Partners and Oakwood Medical Investors.
How to become a salesperson of influence
The other day I spoke to a sales trainer, who was a reference for a candidate. He talked about the difference between being a "pleaser" and an "adviser" to customers. The ultimate goal is for sales people to develop into advisers, someone whom customers look to for expert advice. It is an interesting and important distinction.
It led me to consider the ways medical device salespeople can achieve the role of adviser. It’s a combination of knowledge, commitment, work ethic and "paying it forward:"
MedGadget’s MedTech Monday: Custom-fit degradable cranial implant
Resobone custom-fit degradable implants for bone defects: Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen, Germany, have developed a custom-fit degradable implant for filling bone defects after craniofacial surgery. Currently defects are filled with filling material or previously removed bone. The new method uses a CT image template and a technique called selective laser melting to create a perfectly fitting implant consisting of a porous material into which adjacent bone can grow.
EarlySense wins FDA clearance for patient monitoring system
By Mary Vanac
Ramat Gan, Israel-based medical device company EarlySense Ltd., which recently closed a $13 million fund-raising round, received Food & Drug Administration clearance to sell its EverOn Touch patient monitoring system in the United States.
EverOn is a patient supervision system that goes underneath a hospital bed mattress. The device measures patients’ vital signs, such as heart and respiration rates, as well as movements to alert caregivers about their medical condition.
Weekly Wireless Roundup: Test-driving the iPad in the OR
Test-driving the iPad in the OR: Dr. Felasfa Wodajo of iMedicalApps.com, an orthopedic oncologist in Virginia, recently took his Apple iPad into the operating theater to see how it performs in such an environment. Being one of the editors at iMedicalApps, Felasfa just published his initial findings and they bode a rather bright clincial future for the iPad in particular and tablets in general.
Docs increasingly abandon Medicare
As Congress allowed a 21 percent reduction in reimbursement rates for doctors to come into effect, the number of physicians pulling out of Medicare was already on an upward trend.
The number of individuals enrolling in the program is increasing as Baby Boomers reach age 65 and qualify for Medicare.
Flexural fatigue
ASTM F1264 Annex 3 is a test method for bending fatigue testing of intramedullary fixation devices (IMFD). This cyclic, four-point bend test determines the fatigue life at a specified bending moment or estimates the fatigue strength for a specified number of cycles.
Covidien registers for debt sale to cover $2.3 billion ev3 buyout
Covidien plc (NYSE:COV) registered for a debt offering with the Securities & Exchange Commission, aiming to drum up some cash to pay for its $2.3 billion acquisition of ev3 Inc (NSDQ:EVVV).
The Mansfield, Mass.-based medical products conglomerate filed shelf registration documents with the SEC indicating its plans to sell an unspecified amount of debt in $1,000 increments.
FDA to expedite ev3’s Pipeline
One of Covidien plc’s (NYSE:COV) pending acquisitions won some good news from the Food & Drug Administration after it granted ev3 Inc. (NSDQ:EVVV) an expedited review of its Pipeline embolization treatment for cerebral aneurysms.
Plymouth, Minn.-based ev3 said the FDA agreed to consider the pre-market approval application it filed May 18 for the device, which is designed to treat large, giant and wide-necked brain aneurysms. The federal watchdog agency granted the company an expedited review and processing of the PMA.
UPDATE: Congress set to restore Medicare reimbursement next week
Congress is set to restore Medicare reimbursement rates for physicians next week, meaning a de facto 2.2 percent pay raise, after a 21 percent cut went into effect today.
The rollback would only last six months, however, meaning further rate cuts could be in store down the road.