Wireless health reimbursement rate cut: After months of rumor and analysts’ speculation, Highmark CMS cut the reimbursement rate for wireless cardiac monitoring MCOT services from $1,123.07 to $754. While some analysts were anticipating a rate drop on the order of $200 for the past few months, the rate cut was almost double that. CardioNet, the only pure-play wireless health company that has gone public, is credited with creating the reimbursement codes for MCOT or wireless cardiac monitoring after receiving them in the first quarter of this year. Reimbursement rates are crucial for wireless health companies playing in the clinical space — they directly affect a company’s bottom line because they set the price points that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are willing to pay clinicians for prescribing the products. 
WiFi healthcare market: Worldwide sales of WiFi-enabled healthcare products could reach nearly $5 billion in 2014, according to a recent report from ABI Research. That’s an increase of almost 70 percent over today’s market. ABI Research vice president Stan Schatt explained that “the strong uptake of WiFi in the health industry is underpinned by its need for improved asset management, staff mobility, transfer of digitized records and standardized administration of medications.” Schatt also noted that government security requirements, like HIPAA, typically push companies with older wireless equipment to update to modern versions.
A $6 billion market for the wireless smart home? Global wireless sensor networking services, including home health initiatives and smart grids, will be a $6 billion market worldwide by 2012, according to a new report from research firm ON World. “Two years ago home owners were installing wood floors and pools, but today they are installing in-home energy management and health systems,” says Mareca Hatler, ON World research director. “This trend is being driven by government initiatives and consumers that are demanding cost saving solutions for two of their largest expenses: energy and healthcare.”
DexCom taps Topol for board seat: Continuous blood glucose monitoring company DexCom appointed Dr. Eric Topol to its board of directors. Topol also serves as director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute, founding member and chief medical officer of the West Wireless Health Institute, board member of Triage Wireless and was on CardioNet’s scientific advisory board. DexCom looks to be the first wireless health company focused on diabetes Topol has taken under his wing. It’s worth noting that the West Wireless Health Institute recently announced its first clinical trial would be with Corventis, a wireless remote monitoring company for heart issues.
Brian Dolan is editor of mobihealthnews, the emerging wireless health industry’s daily monitor.
