Health Industry Today articles from June 1998

Health Industry Today archives from June 1998

IDNs, GPOs keep making tougher demands on suppliers.(integrated delivery networks; group purchasing organizations)
June 1, 1998... For years, executives with group purchasing organizations, integrated delivery networks and hospital chains have been singing the mantra that product price is being de-emphasized. Skeptical suppliers have been wary, and for good reason. Price is,...

Sluggish pacer growth offset by growth spurt in tachy market.(pacemakers; treatment for tachycardia)
June 1, 1998... Of all the major medical device segments, the business of producing, marketing and selling pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators is at once the most technologically and financially exciting and rewarding segment in the entire...

Prospects are bright at Cogent Light: New release, Smith & Nephew deal.(Cogent Light Technologies Inc.)
June 1, 1998... With a new single-fiber illumination product piling up orders from both user customers and from companies seeking OEM deals, Cogent Light Technologies Inc. has become one of the fastest growing manufacturers in the high-intensity lighting...

Ackrad Labs believes new catheter set will revolutionize women's health.(H/S Elliptosphereo Catheter Set)
June 1, 1998... Ackrad Laboratories Inc. is confident it will quickly expand the market for uterine imaging with the recent release and widespread adoption of its newest product, the H/S Elliptosphereo Catheter Set. Cranford, N.J.-based Ackrad Labs, which is...

Bemis introduces Vac-U-Port system to O.R. nurses, infection control personnel.
June 1, 1998... When it comes to apples versus oranges, Bemis Manufacturing Co. is convinced there is no comparison. That's the theme of the campaign in support of the company's Vac-U-Porto suction canister, which was introduced in late March at the Assn. of...

AbTox steamed by recall of Plazlyte sterilization system.
June 1, 1998... Officials at AbTox Inc. are taking a low profile in the wake of a massive recall of the company's lone product, the low-temperature, gas-plasma-based Plazlyteo Sterilization System. On April 13, the FDA issued an official nationwide safety alert...

Purchasing climate leaves smaller suppliers feeling boxed in, left out.
June 1, 1998... Although it may come off sounding like sour grapes when the opinion comes from manufacturers that fail to win major national agreements, those suppliers are not alone in their criticism of a GPO system that seems more closed than ever. Several...

Shifts in supplier/GPO relationships redefining today's sales force.(group purchasing organizations)
June 1, 1998... Whether you're running a $3 billion medical device manufacturing company or a $3 million service company you only have to do two things particularly well: 1. Grow the top line, and 2. Grow the appropriate portion of the top line that cascades...

Vendors want to be among the Elite in AmeriNet's committed program.(group purchasing organization)
June 1, 1998... Editor's Note: Last month, Health Industry Today presented an in-depth look ("Contract compliance a double-edged sword for most suppliers," p. 1) at how two group purchasing organizations--Irving, Texas-based Novation and Purchase Connection,...

IDNs, GPOs keep making tougher demands on suppliers
June 1, 1998... By Curt Werner For years, executives with group purchasing organizations, integrated delivery networks and hospital chains have been singing the mantra that product price is being de-emphasized. Skeptical suppliers have been wary, and for good...

Sluggish pacer growth offset by growth spurt in tachy market
June 1, 1998... By Curt Werner Of all the major medical device segments, the business of producing, marketing and selling pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators is at once the most technologically and financially exciting and rewarding segment in...

industry news: Purchase Connection reaches out using vendor focus groups
June 1, 1998... In an effort to reach out to both the vendor community and its membership, Purchase Connection has created its Development Advisory Committee, a series of focus group meetings designed to bring the GPO closer to both sides of the group equation....

Correction
June 1, 1998... The article that appeared in the May issue of Health Industry Today ("Corporate consultants: Are they really just stealth sales reps?," p. 5) contained an error. It was Allegiance Corp., McGaw Park, Ill., that acquired the consulting firm West...

industry news: Medtronic discontinues neurological product line, closes a Calif. plant
June 1, 1998... Saying that the business "cannot be justified on an ongoing basis," Minneapolis-based Medtronic Inc. will close its Micro Interventional Systems (MIS) unit in Sunnyvale, Calif. MIS had been a manufacturer of products used in the minimally...

VHA salutes K-C, Standard Register
June 1, 1998... Kimberly-Clark Corp., Norcross, Ga., and Standard Register, Dayton, Ohio, were recognized by VHA Inc., Irving, Texas, for their support of the VHA network and VHA programs and services. Kimberly-Clark received VHA's 1998 Service Excellence Award...

Medline rolls out physician office supply management program
June 1, 1998... Seeking to widen its share in the physician office supply market, Medline Industries Inc., Mundelein, Ill., has launched Physician-Office Direct, a supply management program targeted to physician office systems. The program, designed to reduce...

Ohmeda's sale dooms alliance with Hewlett-Packard
June 1, 1998... As a direct result of the recent sale of the company, Ohmeda Inc., Liberty Corner, N.J., has agreed to terminate a long-term global alliance with Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto, Calif. In October 1994, the two companies formed the Ohmeda/HP...

DVA merges So. California systems
June 1, 1998... The Dept. of Veteran Affairs has merged two of its health care systems in Southern California, a move that the department says creates the largest intra-network VA regional health care system in the country. The two systems-West Los Angeles VA...

product strategies: Prospects are bright at Cogent Light: New release, Smith & Nephew deal
June 1, 1998... With a new single-fiber illumination product piling up orders from both user customers and from companies seeking OEM deals, Cogent Light Technologies Inc. has become one of the fastest growing manufacturers in the high-intensity lighting...

Ackrad Labs believes new catheter set will revolutionize women's health
June 1, 1998... Ackrad Laboratories Inc. is confident it will quickly expand the market for uterine imaging with the recent release and widespread adoption of its newest product, the H/S Elliptosphere Catheter Set. Cranford, N.J.-based Ackrad Labs, which is...

Bemis introduces Vac-U-Port system to O.R. nurses, infection control personnel
June 1, 1998... When it comes to apples versus oranges, Bemis Manufacturing Co. is convinced there is no comparison. That's the theme of the campaign in support of the company's Vac-U-Port suction canister, which was introduced in late March at the Assn. of...

fda edict cripples manufacturer
June 1, 1998... By Curt Werner Officials at AbTox Inc. are taking a low profile in the wake of a massive recall of the company's lone product, the low-temperature, gas-plasma-based Plazlyte Sterilization System. On April 13, the FDA issued an official nationwide...

contract notes
June 1, 1998... United States Surgical Corp., Norwalk, Conn., signed a three-year, sole-source agreement with the Kaiser Permanente Medical Program that covers sutures, staplers and laparoscopic products. The contract, which took effect May 1, covers all 49...

Purchasing climate leaves smaller suppliers feeling boxed in, left out
June 1, 1998... Although it may come off sounding like sour grapes when the opinion comes from manufacturers that fail to win major national agreements, those suppliers are not alone in their criticism of a GPO system that seems more closed than ever. Several...

national accounts: Retractable Technologies raises GPO compliance issues on national news
June 1, 1998... Retractable Technologies Inc. is a small, north Texas-based manufacturer of a line of needleless syringes. Little known outside of a few scattered hospitals that purchase its Vanishpoint needle product, four-year-old Retractable Technologies has...

national accounts
June 1, 1998... By Curt Werner For years, executives with group purchasing organizations, integrated delivery networks and hospital chains have been singing the mantra that product price is being de-emphasized. Skeptical suppliers have been wary, and for good...

McKesson-G.M.'s Eckert moves to lab supplier CMS/Fisher
June 1, 1998... CMS/Fisher HealthCare, the Houston-based distributor of laboratory supplies, has named Dan Eckert COO. Eckert, a veteran of the medical-surgical distribution wars, moves to CMS/Fisher from his post at Richmond, Va.-based McKesson General Medical...

market memo
June 1, 1998... By Curt Werner Of all the major medical device segments, the business of producing, marketing and selling pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators is at once the most technologically and financially exciting and rewarding segment in...

Cardio technospeak: What it all means
June 1, 1998... It is easy to toss around scientific terms and lingo that goes with it in the cardiovascular device segment, so thanks to Guidant Corp., here's a brief glossary to explain some of the commonly used terms: * Implantable cardioverter...

Shifts in supplier/GPO relationships redefining today's sales force..the death of a sales force
June 1, 1998... By Phil Deelo Whether you're running a $3 billion medical device manufacturing company or a $3 million service company you only have to do two things particularly well: 1. Grow the top line, and 2. Grow the appropriate portion of the top line...

gpo compliance philosophy
June 1, 1998... Editor's Note: Last month, Health Industry Today presented an in-depth look ("Contract compliance a double-edged sword for most suppliers," p. 1) at how two group purchasing organizations-Irving, Texas-based Novation and Purchase Connection,...

around the industry
June 1, 1998... Allegiance Healthcare Corp., McGaw Park, Ill., has acquired for undisclosed terms Bauer Medical Inc., Clearwater, Fla., a privately held manufacturer of single-use biopsy devices. Bauer began operations in Italy in 1989, and expanded through...

Show biz
June 1, 1998... 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 Curt...

price & production report
June 1, 1998... The pace of growth in the nation's manufacturing sector slowed in April, according to the latest report from the National Assn. of Purchasing Management. At the same time, the overall economy continued on its own slow, relentless growth pattern,...

Purchasing Managers' Index (over 50% indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding)
June 1, 1998... April '98: 52.9% March '98: 54.8% April '97: 54.2% Production Index (over 50%, over time, is generally consistent with growth) April '98: 53.4% March '98: 57.6% April '97: 56.6% ...

Analysis:
June 1, 1998... Reversing a four- month downward trend, the unadjusted finished goods component of the Producer Price Index registered a 0.2% rise in April to 130.0. Despite the increase, this index, which measures pricing at the manufacturer level, still stands...

Reversing four-month decline, PPI rises 0.2% in April --Medical Care Commodities Index jumps 0.8% April '98
June 1, 1998... % change % change Category unadjusted from from previous previous index month ...

newsmakers
June 1, 1998... Health Industry Today provides Job Mart listings free of charge to HIT subscribers, provided those subscribers assume full responsibility for handling their own letters of inquiry. Please send notices of executive, manufacturer, representative...

Position wanted:
June 1, 1998... Seeking position as corporate accounts director for health care manufacturer; consultant for health care consulting firm; or marketing/sales/contracting director for provider. Advanced degree. Fifteen years sales and marketing experience with...

Red Line HealthCare:
June 1, 1998... David E. Lehman was named vice president of vendor relations by this Golden Valley, Minn.-based distributor of medical supplies ot the long-term care market. Lehman is the company's most senior employee, having begun his tenure at Red Line nearly...

NeoDyme Technologies Corp.:
June 1, 1998... John R. Lubben has joined this College Station, Texas-based asset management program provider as vice president of national accounts. Lubben previously spent seven years with Milwaukee-based General Electric Medical Systems as business...

Sabratek Corp.:
June 1, 1998... Steven C. Beal was promoted to vice president of sales for this Niles, Ill.-based manufacturer of therapeutic and diagnostic medical systems for the alternate care market. Separately, Sabratek appointed Stephen L. Axel as vice president of...

AMDL Inc.:
June 1, 1998... Gary L. Dreher was named vice president of sales and marketing for this Tustin, Calif.-based manufacturer of diagnostic tests for the early detection of cancer. Prior to joining AMDL, Dreher was president of Medical Market International, a Yorba...

Independent Medical Distributors Assn.:
June 1, 1998... Marvin Marks, president of Baltimore-based MegaTech Medical Inc., has taken over as president of this specialty distributor trade group. He succeeds Barry Foy of Britton Medical, Spartanburg, S.C. Ralph Yaffe of Precision Surgical Inc.,...

Toshiba America Medical Systems:
June 1, 1998... Michael Mack, a 17-year industry veteran, was named director of services business development and marketing for this Tustin, Calif.-based manufacturer of diagnostic imaging systems. Before joining Toshiba, Mack held a variety of positions with...

Health Industry Manufacturers Assn.:
June 1, 1998... Burton A. Dole Jr. and Wesley J. "Jack" Howe were honored by the trade association as recipients of the HIMA Chairman's Award. Dole has been in the industry for the past 32 years. He is former chairman of the board of Nellcor Puritan Bennett...

Sulzer Medica Ltd.:
June 1, 1998... John E. Garcia resigned a president of the electrophysiology division of this Angleton, Texas-based cardiac products manufacturer after 10 years with the company. r

RadioTherapeutics Corp.:
June 1, 1998... Gary Curtis was named president of this Mountain View, Calif.-based medical device developer. Curtis brings 28 years of management experience to RadioTherapeutics, most recently as executive vice president of Fusion Medical Technologies, also of...

Applied Fiberoptics Inc.:
June 1, 1998... Jenny E. Smith was named manager of marketing for this Sturbridge, Mass.-based manufacturer of medical fiberscopes and lighting systems. Smith most recently served as vice president and account supervisor at Durazo Communications Inc., a Los...

EPIX Medical Inc.:
June 1, 1998... Gregg Mayer was appointed vice president of marketing for this Cambridge, Mass.-based developer of targeted MRI contrast agents. He joins EPIX from Chiron Diagnostics, Medfield, Mass., where he served as worldwide marketing manager since 1992.

Leisure-Lift:
June 1, 1998... Ron Weldon joined this Kansas City, Kan.-based electric scooter manufacturer as director of domestic sales and marketing. He joins the company from Nellcor Puritan Bennett, Shawnee Mission, Kan., where he held various sales management and product...

Senior Director of Marketing..
June 1, 1998... HSS/AmeriNet, a national group purchasing organization located north of Pittsburgh, is seeking an individual with five years experience in health care to direct all activities for 11 regional offices. Qualified candidate is required to have a...