special report
The med device company that sold useless parts
In her latest investigation, STAT's medical devices reporter Lizzy Lawrence takes us into the labyrinthine world of battery and electrode supply, zooming in on a company called Zynex that faces dozens of complaints for shipping patients equipment they don't need and charging them for it even when insurers refuse to pay. Lizzy spoke to several patients, including Michelle Bean, who received a steady stream of battery and electrodes each month for her electrical stimulation unit, which she uses occasionally for sciatica pain.
KAYANA SZYMCZAK FOR STAT
"It has really left a bad taste in my mouth," Bean told Lizzy about Zynex and their oversupply scheme. "I'm more vocal about things and I flat-out told them I'm not paying this. But other people aren't going to be like that. They're probably making all kinds of money on people that really can't afford it and didn't need it. It's a waste." The special report, which includes conversations with former Zynex employees, is well worth your time.
Inside med devices companies' 'razor blade' strategy
If you don't have the time to read Lizzy's extensive reporting, here's an easy way to get caught up: Five takeaways from the story.
So what do all these shipments of unsolicited supplies, and spurious billing, mean? Lizzy breaks down a practice that's pretty common in the industry: Sending unnecessary supplies to patients and sticking them with the bill. Among lessons from her investigation is that some medical device companies employ a "razor blade" business model in which they sell a primary product for a relatively low cost, and then collect higher profits on a complementary product. Zynex, for instance, makes most of its money — about 70% — from these monthly battery and electrode shipments. Read other takeaways from Lizzy's report here.
Medical Devices
Becton Dickinson plans $4.2 billion acquisition
In other device news, Becton Dickinson plans to scoop up Edwards Lifesciences' critical care division, which sells heart monitoring technology, for $4.2 billion, Lizzy reports. An acquisition has been on the table for a while: Edwards had told investors as far back as December that it planned to spin off that business, which brought in more than $900 million last year, to focus on addressing heart detects. BD's chief executive Tom Polen said the new property would enhance the company's portfolio of AI- and digital health tools. Read more from Lizzy.
Abbott clears FDA hurdle for glucose monitors
Device company Abbott now has Food and Drug Administration clearance for its over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor called Lingo, which it's already rolled out in the U.K., MedTechDive reported. It's not clear when it plans to do so in the U.S.
The company will soon compete head-to-head with Dexcom, which scored FDA clearance for its own over-the-counter glucose monitor in March — the first such device to achieve clearance, allowing patients without prescriptions to track their own glucose.
telehealth
Is palliative care as effective virtually as in-person?
A handful of my STAT colleagues are reporting on the ground from the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago; among newsmakers is a study suggesting that palliative care could be as effective if delivered virtually compared to in-person. STAT's cancer reporter Angus Chen dives into the findings, which are welcomed by some clinicians.
"I can sit in my office or at home and do patient after patient. It doesn't increase the number of healthcare professionals doing palliative care, but it does increase the efficiency," Thomas Smith, a medical oncologist and palliative care specialist at Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center who was not involved in the study, told Angus, adding, "[t]here simply aren't enough palliative care professionals to provide the care that's needed." Read more from Angus.
artificial intelligence
How an AI may have boosted hospital cancer screening
Also from ASCO, Angus reports on another promising technology application: An AI tool that researchers at Montefiore Einstein think could help overloaded care navigators manage more patients. In collaboration with a tech company called MyndYou, the team built a conversational tool to handle outreach for patients who missed or canceled colonoscopies; the team presented an abstract at the conference in which they reported that the tool doubled the colonoscopy completion rate among patients.
"Since the pandemic, the demand and load on our healthcare team is huge. They're stretched thin. They can only do so much," psychologist Alyson Moadel-Robblee, who's investigating psycho-oncology at the Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center, said. "They can't call in the evening or whenever." Read more.
Cybersecurity
Change Healthcare watch: Rule update and an FTC probe
I'm expecting continuing fallout from the Change Healthcare hack that felled much of the health care industry relying on its payment processing. Some developments this week:
- My colleague Brittany Trang reports on a Health and Human Services Department rule update clarifying that Change can notify patients whose sensitive health information was exposed following the breach, instead of the hospitals and clinics that used Change. Providers had worried they'd not only have to track down patients themselves, but also be perceived as being responsible for the data breach.
- Bloomberg reports that Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is urging the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate the security breach at Change.
No comments