Category Archives: MarketMechanics
February 2018
Agility Health to sell US assets
Agility Health Inc., Grand Rapids, MI, has agreed to sell 100% of its US-based assets to Alliance Physical Therapy Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alliance Physical Therapy Partners, Tampa, FL, a portfolio company of New York-based asset management firm GPB Capital Holdings. Continue reading
February 2018
Legislation: O&P clinician notes
The clinical notes of orthotists and prosthetists will again be recognized as part of a patient’s medical record to determine reasonable and medical necessity of O&P devices—a change that was included in the bipartisan Continuing Resolution passed by Congress February 9. Continue reading
February 2018
DJO to pay $7.62 million for subsidiary’s “assumptive selling”
DJO Global (DJO), Vista, CA, has agreed to pay $7.62 million to resolve allegations that its now-defunct subsidiary, Empi, Shoreview, MN, submitted false claims to TRICARE for excessive, unnecessary transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) electrodes that TRICARE beneficiaries did not need or use. Continue reading
February 2018
APTA courses included in aPTitude CE resource
The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT) have partnered to bring APTA’s Learning Center continuing education offerings to FSBPT’s online system, aPTitude. The site allows physical therapists (PT) and PT assistants to… Continue reading
February 2018
PT licensure compact to begin mid-2018
The Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT) has set mid-2018 as the go-live date for the Physical Therapy Licensure Compact, an agreement among member states to improve access to physical therapy (PT) services by increasing the ability of eligible providers to work in… Continue reading
February 2018
AAOS welcomes chief education strategist
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) has appointed Anna Salt Troise as its new chief education strategist. In this role, Troise will direct all AAOS education and peer-reviewed publishing activities, as well as its newly implemented strategy.
February 2018
Podiatric coding expert Harry Goldsmith dies
Harry Goldsmith, DPM, a noted coding expert and consultant to the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) Health Policy and Practice department, died February 7. Goldsmith was instrumental in the development of the APMA Coding Resource Center, among other efforts that supported the APMA.
February 2018
PTAG honors legislator
The Physical Therapy Association of Georgia (PTAG) honored Senator Fran Millar (R-GA) with its Legislator of the Year Award on February 13 for his work to ensure all Georgians have access to physical therapy, reported Dunwoody, GA-based The Crier.
February 2018
Fashion and inspiration for women
Trend-able.com, a fashion and lifestyle website that seeks to help women who have physical disabilities that require leg braces, orthotic or prosthetic devices or other devices such as for balance and walking to look and feel their best, is a free resource for patients, orthotists and prosthetists… Continue reading
January 2018
Robb Appointed Orthopedic Director, CMO of Illinois Bone & Joint Institute
Illinois Bone & Joint Institute (IBJI), which has 20 locations across Chicago and Northern Illinois, has appointed William J. Robb, III, MD, as Orthopedic Director, Chief Medical Officer. Robb joined IBJI in 1995 and has 40 years of surgical experience, specializing in adult knee disorders Continue reading
January 2018
Select Physical Therapy Opens New Maine Location
Select Physical Therapy, a division of Select Medical, announced the grand opening of a new outpatient physical therapy center, located at 176 Livermore Falls Road, Unit 1, Farmington, ME. Sean Shields, PT, DPT, OCS, has been appointed center manager. Continue reading
January 2018
AOTA Seeking Executive Director
The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) is accepting nominations and applications for its executive director position, located in Bethesda, MD. Korn Ferry, an executive search and recruiting firm headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, is assisting with the search.
January 2018
Recipients of DJO products notified of potential data breach
San Diego-based DJO Global recently announced that the company discovered an incident involving the potential disclosure of certain personal information of patients who received a DJO Global product while being treated in the emergency room, same-day… Continue reading
January 2018
Costello Named GW’s PT Program Director
Ellen Costello, PT, PhD, has been named Director of the Physical Therapy (PT) Program in the Department of Health, Human Function, and Rehabilitation Sciences at the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) Continue reading
January 2018
Online Tool Guides Joint Replacement Decisions in OA Sufferers
A web-based tool developed at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Medical School helps patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee or hip decide whether and when to proceed with total joint replacement surgery by comparing the individual’s pain and… Continue reading
January 2018
AAOS Approves Diagnostic, Treatment Criteria for Hip OA
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) recently approved new Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) for the Management of Osteoarthritis of the Hip. AUCs provide clinicians with algorithms on how to optimally treat an orthopedic injury or condition, including… Continue reading
January 2018
ProEx PT Acquires Competitive Edge PT
ProEx Physical Therapy, headquartered in Portsmouth, NH, has acquired Competitive Edge Physical Therapy, Norwell, MA. Paul Amorosino, PT, MSPT, OMT, owner of Competitive Edge, has joined the ProEx team as clinical director of the Norwell location Continue reading
January 2018
FDA Approves Marketing of Device to Treat DFUs
In December 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the marketing of Sanuwave’s dermaPACE System, the first shock-wave device to treat diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). The system uses externally applied energy pulses, similar to sound waves, to… Continue reading
January 2018
New BPCI Program Includes Lower-Extremity Episodes
The US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced a new voluntary bundled payments opportunity, known as the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced (BPCI Advanced), which will be launched in October 2018 and run… Continue reading
January 2018
Tennessee Orthopaedic Clinics appoints medical director
Tennessee Orthopaedic Clinics, headquartered in Knoxville, announced that P. Merrill White, III, MD, was appointed medical director, effective January 1, 2018. He will be responsible for leading the overall clinical vision, strategy, and medical oversight for the group. Continue reading
January 2018
Mary Free Bed, GVSU expand partnership to share motion lab
Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital, Grand Rapids, MI, and Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI, are expanding their partnership to now share a Motion Analysis Lab, located in the Cook-DeVos Center for Health Sciences, Grand Rapids. Continue reading
January 2018
CEL-SCI awarded patent for RA vaccine
CEL-SCI Corporation, Vienna, VA, has received a patent from the European Patent Office for its LEAPS platform technology, which is being developed as a potential therapeutic vaccine for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The patent, EP 2254588B1, is… Continue reading
January 2018
Sensoria, Optima to create smart diabetic footwear
Seattle-based Sensoria Health and Optima Molliter, Civitanova Marche, Italy, announced a partnership to create what they claim is the first smart diabetic footwear product that will monitor a patient’s compliance to the clinician’s prescribed mechanical off-loading protocol. Continue reading
November 2017
AAOS, AJRR create orthopedic database
The Rosemont, IL-based American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) in mid-October announced plans to create a national family of clinical data registries for a broad range of orthopedic conditions and procedures. Continue reading
November 2017
CMS amends custom diabetic insert coding
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have amended a recent coding clarification regarding custom-fabricated diabetic shoe inserts, which two specialty organizations had criticized as being unnecessarily strict and a detriment to advanced technology. Continue reading
