Health Industry Today articles from August 1999

Health Industry Today archives from August 1999

Market Memo : The making of the market 1999; safety needles sticking to script.
August 1, 1999... A script entitled The Making of the Safety Needle Market-1999, would have enough dramatic elements to set production hearts aflutter. Its historical scope spans decades, there are plenty of good guys and bad guys, regrettably real life and...

Early success at eAuction website prompts medibuy.com to add layers.
August 1, 1999... The early success of medibuy.com and its eAuction division has led the company to devise a series of encores and left its president grasping for superlatives. "The reception well, it's been like drinking from a fire hose," says eAuction...

McKesson-HBOC scandal requires crisis-quick corporate and sales force response.
August 1, 1999... The McKessonHBOC scandal is putting hospitals on notice to take a closer look at their suppliers and the people who are calling on them. The company fired five of its top executives, including the CEO, and lost some 50% of its stock...

Med-Design hopes sales of safety devices boom under licensing agreement with Becton Dickinson.
August 1, 1999... During a conference call from his corporate office in Ventura, Calif., Med-Design CEO Jim Donegan can be heard rattling papers on his desk. "Just a minute," he says. "I have those figures right in front of me." The call that took...

INTER-FIX spinal fusion cage late to the tables, but Sofamor Danek sure it will find market share.
August 1, 1999... When Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Minneapolis, introduced its INTER FIX[ordinal indicator, feminine] threaded fusion cage device in May, 1999, the thought may have occurred to industry observers that the company was a bit late arriving at the...

No magic bullets for approaching GPOs, says CCI, but firm brings big marketing guns to the process.(Corporate Contracts Inc.)
August 1, 1999... There are no magic bullets for device manufacturers and med-surg suppliers targeting contracts with GPOs and IDNs, but the process doesn't always have to be a shot in the dark. "The biggest problems in approaching GPOs are not new, and...

Hold back on that big Internet campaign, says direct mail, messaging supplier.(Brief Article)
August 1, 1999... It probably comes as no shock to marketing managers and sales personnel that Pitney Bowes, Stamford, Conn., the $4.2 billlion provider of informed mail and messaging management says that...surprise!...companies should prefer direct mail to...

Medline taking steps to meet growing latex-free demands.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 1999... Medline Industries, Inc., Mundelein, Ill., says it has introduced the medical industry's first latex-free treatment cart system in order to meet the growing demand for products that respond to ongoing latex allergy concerns. Identified...

Regent to offer glove 10-packs in response to industry trend.(Brief Article)
August 1, 1999... Having a sense of which way hospital winds are blowing, Regent Medical, Norcross, Ga., has announced that it will offer its Biogel[umlaut] Neotech[umlaut] synthetic surgical glove in a 10-pair pack. The rationale behind the packaging is the...

Aesculap completes lineup of minimally invasive products.(Brief Article)
August 1, 1999... Aesculap, Inc., San Francisco, has topped off its product line of minimally invasive surgical products with the introduction of the Aesculap Visual System (AVS) of instrumentation. The AVS includes: - A single-chip camera...

Varian receives FDA clearance for cancer treatment device.(Brief Article)
August 1, 1999... Varian Medical Systems, Inc., Palo Alto, Calif., has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the latest version of its beam-shaping device used in cancer radiotherapy. The device is important, says the...

Mallinckrodt looks to new technology by acquiring intrauterine sensor rights.(Brief Article)
August 1, 1999... Reported to be lodged in a blood oximetry field with increasing volume but decreasing revenues, Mallinckrodt, Inc., St. Louis, has acquired worldwide rights to intrauterine sensor technology it plans to integrate into its next generation of...

Kensey Nash addresses patient population with clinical trials for vein graft device.(Brief Article)
August 1, 1999... Kensey Nash Corp., Exton, Pa., hopes to take advantage of significant patient numbers following FDA clearance to commence clinical trials in the U.S. for its Aegis Vortex[angle quotation mark, right] System to open diseased saphenous vein...

RenalTech seeking capital infusion with new kidney dialysis technology.(Brief Article)
August 1, 1999... RenalTech Int., New York, put its technology where the money is by presenting its medical device technology for improving kidney dialysis outcomes to investors at the New York City Venture Capital Conference and Exposition in June. The...

Siemens hoping its bedside technique will boost ultrasound revenues.
August 1, 1999... Siemens Medical Systems, Inc., Issaquah, Wash., has expanded its line of ultrasound imaging systems in hopes of putting it where it is really needed at patients' bedsides. "One of ultrasound's main advantages has always been that it can...

FDA clearance clears way to Sabratek to resume marketing of saline flush syringe.
August 1, 1999... Sabratek Corp., Skokie, Ill., has received FDA marketing clearance for its Rocap Division's Normal Saline IV Flush Syringe that will allow it to resume distribution of the product. The company voluntarily ceased distribution of the flush...

Physicians look to med group practices for increased bargaining clout with GPOs.(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 1999... Managed care has been the driving force behind physicians moving in increasing numbers to medical group practices (MGPs) that provide contract bargaining strength with group purchasing organizations (GPOs), and integrated healthcare networks...

Lack of online customer service hurting e-commerce sales, report says.(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 1999... The first discouraging word concerning e-commerce and the sale of products, including medical devices and equipment, over the Internet has been issued by Net Effect Systems, (NES), North Hollywood, Calif. A survey conducted by NES...

Consolidations running rampant among managed care companies.
August 1, 1999... Medical device and equipment marketers trying to schedule sales calls are harder pressed now than they were five years ago, according to findings by Irving Levin Associates, Inc. of New Canaan, Conn. A new report entitled The Managed...

Medicare cuts approaching $2 billion; reductions felt at skilled nursing facilities.
August 1, 1999... Medicare cuts totaling nearly twice the projected amount are being felt at skilled nursing facilties, says an analysis released by the American Health Care Assn.AE12 (AHCA), as well as trimming the market for med-surg products. Cuts...

HIMA, MDMA join forces against a common foe; Dr. Koop to the rescue of vinyl medical devices.
August 1, 1999... Medical device manufacturers under assault for using vinyl in their products recently enjoyed a rare cycle of industry solidarity and rapid vindication when disclaimers issued by the Health Industry Manufacturers Assn. (HIMA) and Medical...

It was music to the ears of HIMA and MDMA.
August 1, 1999... "Now that the (FDA) and this independent panel have come to the same conclusion regarding the safety of vinyl in plastic IV bags and other medical products," said MDMA executive director Stephen Northrup, "we hope to hear no more on this...

HIMA fired a final salvo before lowering the curtain.
August 1, 1999... The Koop panel's credibility and authority, it said, should leave no double in patients' minds that vinyl is safe for use in medical devices. The ASCH report, it said, contrasts drastically with the NCWH report, which relied on...

Manufacturers applaud planned Medicare reform.
August 1, 1999... But let's not have this turn into same old, same old, say device and health groups Officials from all segments of the health care industry welcomed President Clinton's proposed Medicare reforms as being needed and overdue, but cautioned...

Olympus America hoping health care information makes bringing customers to website a snap.
August 1, 1999... The proliferation of corporate websites has brought about a mountain of self-serving information locations designed to coerce customers to buy, buy, buy. Olympus America Inc., Melville, N.Y., is determined to differentiate its site by...

Will five Cs guide Internet marketing in Y2K?(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 1999... It seems somehow inevitable that the three Rs of education (readin', 'ritin and 'rithmatic) should be upgraded to the five Cs of internet commerce as we approach Year 2000. According to James J. Kumpel, a health care information...

Novation, Irving, Texas, the supply company of VHA Inc. and the University HealthSystem Consortium, has contracted with Kendall Healthcare for pneumatic compression devices and accessories.
August 1, 1999... Novation, Irving, Texas, the supply company of VHA Inc. and the University HealthSystem Consortium, has contracted with Kendall Healthcare for pneumatic compression devices and accessories. The agreement, reached through a competitive bid...

Long-standing Bureau of National Affairs offers new guide to Medicare/Medicaid regs.
August 1, 1999... The venerable Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., Washington, D.C., has announced a new Internet library that will help device manufacturers and med-surg suppliers endure the maze of Medicare/Medicaid statutes, regulations and program manuals...

Use local reps to approach physicians, but be aware of the risks, says report.(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 1999... Sales strategists approaching physicians' offices through local or smaller dealers can provide the greatest level of satisfaction to physician office customers, but it is also the riskiest approach, says the 1999 Physicians' Office World...

Show biz.(Statistical Data Included)
August 1, 1999... Editor's Note: If a trade show or expo you are or were involved with increased (or decreased) the number of participants, exhibitors or floor space, let HIT know. We're also interested in your reactions to today's trade shows. Contact...

Seminars set for devices, biomaterials.
August 1, 1999... Technomic Publishing AG has announced its Fall, 1999 schedule of medical device and biomaterials industry seminars. Domestic events will be presented at sites listed. All international events will be held at the Zurich Hilton in Zurich,...

AHA Scientific Sessions slated for Atlanta.
August 1, 1999... The 72nd annual Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Assn. will provide nearly four days of comprehensive educational experience in the major facets of cardiovascular diseases with sessions Nov. 7-10, and exhibits Nov. 8-10, 1999, in...

U.S. firms cleared for Cuban exhibition.
August 1, 1999... United States health care companies, including medical device, instrument and equipment manufacturers, have been cleared by the U.S. government to participate in the U.S. Healthcare Exhibition in Havana, Cuba, Jan. 25-29, 2000. The...

Trade show calendar.
August 1, 1999... Trading places Here's Health Industry Today's listing of key health care trade shows for the coming months. To add one, contact John Dalton at 303-967-0170, fax 303-290-9025, or e-mail to HIT@businessword.com Dates Meeting...