Health Industry Today articles from January 1994

Health Industry Today archives from January 1994

Laser market facing external barriers; public demanding new laser procedure. (Market Memo)
January 1, 1994... Medical laser manufacturers are scrambling to use all the marketing resources they have to convince physicians and hospital administrators to purchase lasers ranging in price from $30,000 to $400,000. Although lasers have been used in...

Five distributors continue as VHA's ADAs; contract valued at more than $1 billion. (Voluntary Hospitals of America; Authorized Distribution Agent)
January 1, 1994... Stuart MEdical, Inc., Greensburg, Pa., took a step toward assuring its future for the next three years by renewing its largest contact, which constitutes about half of the company's annual revenues. In December, Voluntary Hospitals of America...

Medtronic Transvene gets clearance; FDA warns Ventritex about promotion. (Medtronic Inc.; Ventritex Inc.) (News Briefs)
January 1, 1994... Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, received Food & Drug Administration clearance in December to market the company's Transvene |R~ lead system to be used in conjunction with Medtronic's PCD |R~ implantable defibrillator device. Currently, the...

USSC expands restructuring program, will take losses through first quarter. (U.S. Surgical Corp.) (News Briefs)
January 1, 1994... U.S. Surgical Corp. (USSC), Norwalk, Conn., announced in December that the company will expand the restructuring program the company unveiled in October by eliminating another 300 to 500 positions and by divesting properties around the world....

ORC's one-piece IOL line impounded by FDA. (Optical Radiation Corp.; intraocular lenses) (News Briefs)
January 1, 1994... Optical Radiation Corp. (ORC), Azusa, Calif., is keeping the lines of communication open between the company and customers since the Food & Drug Administration impounded ORC's line of one-piece intraocular lenses (IOLs) in late November. The...

Amsco knocking on door of AmeriNet with new contract. (Amsco Sterile Recoveries Inc.; AmeriNet Inc.) (News Briefs)
January 1, 1994... Amsco Sterile Recoveries, Inc., Pittsburgh, signed a five-year agreement to supply its full line of reusable surgical linens and supplies to members of Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Health Care (IHC), an affiliate member of St. Louis-based...

3M signs deal, launches product and enters distribution agreement. (3M Health Care) (News Briefs)
January 1, 1994... 3M Health Care, St. Paul, Minn., made three major moves in October, signing a major group purchasing contract, launching a new product and entering into a long-term distribution agreement. 3M signed a three-year agreement with MedEcon Services,...

Baxter supplying Sure-Med systems to National Medical Enterprises. (Baxter Healthcare Corp.; National Medical Enterprises Inc.) (News Briefs)
January 1, 1994... The Productivity Systems Group of Baxter Healthcare Corp., Deerfield, Ill., signed a three-year agreement to supply its Sure-Med |R~ Automated Distribution System to National Medical Enterprises, Inc. (NME), Santa Monica, Calif. The agreement...

Pyxis and Abbott sign co-marketing agreement. (Pyxis Corp.; Abbott Laboratories) (News Briefs)
January 1, 1994... San Diego-based Pyxis Corp. signed a three-year co-marketing agreement with Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Ill., that gives Abbott the rights to offer Pyxis medication-distribution systems with Abbott products. The agreement took effect...

LVPS tapping into I.V. market with sale of manufacturing facilities. (LVPS Ltd.; intravenous equipment) (News Briefs)
January 1, 1994... LVPS, Ltd., Chicago, is targeting medical distributors, group purchasing organizations and multi-hospital systems to buy the company's MicroFacility |TM~--a self-contained I.V. solution manufacturing facility capable of producing 4 million units...

Medical goods consumption rose 9% per year between 1988 and 1992. (News Briefs)
January 1, 1994... Between 1988 and 1992, U.S. consumption of medical goods increased 9% annually, resulting in $20 billion in sales for U.S. and foreign manufacturers, according to the Industry & Trade Summary published by the United States International Trade...

Richard-Allan sales rise following AmeriNet contest. (Richard-Allan Medical Industries Inc.; AmeriNet Inc.) (News Briefs)
January 1, 1994... A stain contest sponsored by Richard-Allan Medical Industries, Inc., Richland, Mich., and St. Louis-based AmeriNet is expected to boost compliance 15% to 20% for the manufacturer's line of histology and cytology products purchased by AmeriNet...

Vendors cash in on larger contracts with SupportHealth's sole-source pacts. (News Briefs)
January 1, 1994... Baxter Healthcare Corp., Deerfield, Ill., signed the largest of several sole-source agreements with SupportHealth, Birmingham, Ala.--marking a change in the GPO's purchasing strategy from using dual-source contracts to using sole-source. All the...

Regent wins VHA sole-source contract for powder-free gloves. (Voluntary Hospitals of America) (News Briefs)
January 1, 1994... Regent Hospital Products, Ltd., Greenville, S.C., signed a two-year agreement with Dallas-based Voluntary Hospitals of America, making the vendor the sole supplier of powder-free gloves to VHA's 900 facilities. The companies would not release any...

54% of hospitals decreasing budgets, LINC Capital Survey reports. (The LINC Group Inc.) (News Briefs)
January 1, 1994... Hospitals' perception of health care reform is likely to continue the decrease in capital equipment purchases, according to results from the fifth annual LINC Capital Survey, sponsored by The LINC Group, Inc., Chicago, a medical equipment leasing...

Study foresees 17 trends altering health care; HIT interprets effect on vendors. (Health Industry Today) (Vendors and Reform)
January 1, 1994... Vendors can position themselves now to take advantage of future changes in health care. The Hospital Council of Southern California/Center for Health Resources (HCSC), Los Angeles, foresees 17 trends that will radically alter the nation's health...

Your alarm clock is sounding ... will you ignore your wake-up call? (advertising of medical equipment) (Advertising Strategies)
January 1, 1994... Are you tired of reading about the changes in our industry yet? Sometimes I am. But if you're part of the diagnostics or medical device industry, there are fundamental changes taking place that will have a dramatic impact on your job and what you...

Medtronic and St. Jude in bidding war for auto-transfusion device manufacturer. (Medtronic Inc.; St. Jude Medical Inc.; Electromedics Inc.)
January 1, 1994... Two of the nation's leading cardiovascular manufacturers are in a bidding war to purchase Electromedics, Inc., Englewood, Colo., a manufacturer of autologous transfusion equipment. Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, offered $85 million for...

Baxter promoting image quality of new Opsis Video DistalCam. (Baxter Healthcare Corp.) (Product Strategies)
January 1, 1994... Baxter Healthcare Corp., Deerfield, Ill., is marketing its new Opsis Video DistalCam System, which can be used in all endoscopic surgery procedures, as having the clearest images of any system on the market. The Opsis system was released in...

Biomed's Micros system cutting hospital infusion costs. (Biomed Healthcare Inc.) (Product Strategies)
January 1, 1994... Biomed Healthcare, Inc., Irvine, Calif., is promoting its Micros Infusion System as a cost-effective replacement for minibags, secondary sets and infusion pumps. The system was released in October. The Micros system features a one-way membrane...

Envirco basing marketing on Johns Hopkins endorsement. (Envirco Corp.; John Hopkins Hospital) (Product Strategies)
January 1, 1994... Envirco Corp., Albuquerque, N.M., is using the endorsement of Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, as its main marketing focus for the company's Hospi-Gard, a new air filtration system released in November. The Hospi-Gard, designed jointly by...

Fuji marketing "fastest" film developing system, company says. (Fuji Medical Systems USA Inc.) (Product Strategies)
January 1, 1994... Fuji Medical Systems USA, Inc., Stamford, Conn., is marketing its new daylight film center, the FEM430 MOL7, as the fastest on the market for developing photos used in general diagnosis, video imaging and mammography. Fuji is targeting mid-sized...

ORC positioning keratography system as "fully loaded," less costly to use. (Optical Radiation Corp.) (Product Strategies)
January 1, 1994... Optical Radiation Corp., Azusa, Calif., is marketing its Master Vue Smart Topography system as the most accurate keratography system on the market for measuring corneal topography. The system was released in November. The Master Vue system...

Pace Tech's new monitor challenging Critikon's and Protocol's products. (Pace Tech Medical Monitors Inc.; Critikon Inc.; Protocol Systems Inc.) (Product Strategies)
January 1, 1994... Pace Tech Medical Monitors, Inc., Clearwater, Fla., is marketing its new Vitalmax 800C monitor as a versatile, cost-effective, portable alternative to monitors made by the company's leading competitors, Critikon Inc., Tampa, Fla., and Protocol...

Supra Medical launches smaller, less expensive version of scanner. (Supra Medical Corp.) (Product Strategies) (Product Announcement)
January 1, 1994... Supra Medical Corp., Chadds Ford, Pa., introduced its new Supra Microscanner as a smaller and less expensive version of the company's Supra Scanner, both of which are designed to use sound waves to diagnose skin disorders. The product was...

Wilshire's "intelligent" dressing adjusts to amount of wound exudate. (Wilshire Medical Products Div.) (Product Strategies) (Product Announcement)
January 1, 1994... Wilshire Medical Products, Dallas, is marketing its HydroDerm Breathable Transparent Wound Dressing as the only "intelligent" wound dressing on the market that can adjust to the amount of exudate a wound produces. The dressing was released in...

Advanced Surgical promoting strength and versatility of new retractor. (Advanced Surgical Inc.) (Product Strategies) (Product Announcement)
January 1, 1994... Advanced Surgical, Inc., Princeton, N.J., is marketing its 10mm reusable expose retractors as the strongest and most versatile reusable retractors on the market designed for laparoscopic surgery. The retractors were released in December. Company...

Birtcher emphasizing cleaning ease with new surgical instrument line. (Birtcher Medical Systems Inc.) (Product Strategies) (Product Announcement)
January 1, 1994... Birtcher Medical Systems, Irvine, Calif., is marketing its 16-item line of Sure-Clean reusable surgical instruments as the easiest to clean graspers, dissectors, manipulators and atraumatic forceps on the market. The products, which come in 5mm...

Kodak launches smaller projector line for office and lab use. (Eastman Kodak Co.) (Product Strategies ) (Product Announcement)
January 1, 1994... Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N.Y., released two cineangiogram projectors in November designed for use in cardiology labs as well as doctors' offices. Kodak is marketing the Vanguard Cine 275 Cineangiogram Projector as a small, easy-to-operate...

General Medical Corp. (executive appointments) (Newsmakers)
January 1, 1994... General Medical Corp. announced several organizational moves designed to make the medical products distributor more responsive to its customers. Jim Robison has been promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer. Robison was...

MKM Healthcare Corp. (appoints Carole McCaffrey as director of marketing) (Newsmakers)
January 1, 1994... MKM Healthcare Corp., Huntington Valley, Pa., promoted Carole McCaffrey to director of marketing from educational representative for the state of Florida. McCaffrey, who has been with MKM almost two years, will be responsible for marketing the...

Darrow Medical Corp. (appoints Jerry Green as vice president of corporate accounts) (Newsmakers)
January 1, 1994... Darrow Medical Corp., Las Vegas, named Jerry Green vice president, corporate accounts. He will be responsible for marketing the profit building or cost containment benefits of the company's compliance devices. Green has held a variety of...

Elscint Ltd. (appoints Thomas Spackman as president and CEO of Elscint Inc.) (Newsmakers)
January 1, 1994... Elscint Ltd., Chicago, an Israeli-based manufacturer and marketer of medical diagnostic imaging equipment, appointed Thomas Spackman president and chief executive officer of its U.S. subsidiary, Elscint Inc., and senior vice president of its...

Premedica. (appoints Deborah Parker as national marketing coordinator for long-term ventilator programs) (Newsmakers)
January 1, 1994... Premedica, Los Angeles, promoted Deborah Parker to national marketing coordinator for long-term ventilator programs. Premedica is the nation's largest respiratory care contracting company. Parker will be responsible for assisting prospective...

Eastman Kodak Co. (appoints Karen A. Smith-Pilkington as general manager and vice president of cardiology products unit) (Newsmakers )
January 1, 1994... The Health Sciences Division of the Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N.Y., named Karen A. Smith-Pilkington general manager and vice president of the cardiology products unit. Prior to this announcement, Smith-Pilkington served as manager of...

Becton Dickinson & Co. (appoints Robert L. Jones as vice president, corporate sales) (Newsmakers)
January 1, 1994... Becton Dickinson & Co., Franklin Lakes, N.J., appointed Robert L. Jones vice president, corporate sales. Jones will make the transition from his current role of vice president of sales this month. Jones will assume responsibility for...