ELYRIA, Ohio & ATLANTA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Invacare Corporation (NYSE: IVC) is utilizing the home medical equipment (HME) industry’s largest tradeshow, Medtrade, as a platform to introduce its latest products and services that will arm HME providers with the tools they need to drive profitability in the National Competitive Bidding (NCB) reimbursement climate. Invacare continues to make every effort to fix the flawed NCB program, highlighting the benefits of homecare as a solution to the rising costs of healthcare, but the NCB reality is underway in the first nine metropolitan statistical areas and on the horizon for 91 markets in July 2013.
With 10 months of NCB underway, Invacare is uniquely positioned, as the industry’s largest supplier and creditor, to share with its customers what it has learned from the first nine NCB areas. The Company has developed a guide entitled, ‘Act Now! Ask Me How,’ to share the 18-steps of successful customers with the providers who are preparing for the second round of NCB. Visit Invacare at booth #714 at Medtrade in Atlanta, Georgia, on October 25-27, 2011.
“Invacare’s know-how comes from the book of life rather than from the life of books. Successful providers took key steps early in the process to position themselves for these reimbursement changes, and we are detailing those actions in our booth with the guide, ‘Act Now! Ask Me How,’ to help the providers in the upcoming 91 markets to plan for success,” said Brian Ellacott, vice president and general manager, North America commercial operations.
In addition, Mal Mixon and Cara Bachenheimer, the industry’s leading advocates in Washington D.C., will be at the Invacare booth to share the latest NCB news with providers. Mixon, Invacare’s founder and chairman, and Cara Bachenheimer, senior vice president, government relations, will be launching the ‘Act Now! Ask Me How’ plan with daily briefings at the booth.
All of the products and services that Invacare is showcasing at Medtrade focus on improving patient care while also driving provider success at the total lowest cost of ownership. Many of these new introductions stem from the Company’s globalization initiative, leveraging the Company’s global resources and expertise to create superior products. These products will be launching in the fourth quarter of 2011 and primarily throughout 2012.
Invacare is excited to introduce two new Dual System (DS) Oxygen Therapy products to its respiratory product line. The Invacare® HomeFill® DS Oxygen System and the Invacare® Perfecto2™ DS Concentrator were designed to work together seamlessly and provide significant benefits to providers and patients. Providers will appreciate the fact that both components weigh less than their predecessors and fit together without the use of a ready rack. Also, both products are backwards compatible with over a million Invacare® Platinum® and Perfecto2™ ported concentrators and approximately 200,000 HomeFill systems that are already in providers’ fleets.
Patients will love the significant noise reduction and improved aesthetic design that has been built into the new DS oxygen products. Also, the HomeFill DS Oxygen System offers an 18% reduction in power consumption versus the current HomeFill system, which will cut down on patients’ electric bills. Lastly, the Perfecto2 DS Concentrator features the new Invacare® IntelliTune™ process that optimizes performance daily to account for changes in temperature, humidity and altitude which will ensure the purest oxygen output for the patient.
The Invacare Rehab products division has a number of new product launches distinctly designed for positive patient outcomes and total lowest cost of ownership for the provider, including the Invacare® TDX® SP II custom power wheelchair, Invacare® Top End® Reveal™ custom manual wheelchair and Invacare® Matrx® MX1 Back. Invacare also has business efficiency in mind by embracing technology in ways that will simplify processes for providers, like the new Invacare® Visual Configurator (ViC). Providers can save time and eliminate labor-intensive steps by integrating ViC into their order processing systems and storing common configurations and building wheelchairs visually instead of using paper forms with model numbers only.
The Invacare Homecare products division will be showcasing the new Invacare® Simplicity DS™ bed that features a slat deck for improved delivery, set-up and removal, as well as backwards compatible universal bed ends to reduce lifecycle costs. Also featured at the booth will be the new Invacare® Softform Active™ 2 Therapeutic Support Surface. Based on a clinically successful global platform, this product is an innovative static/alternating dynamic mattress that provides excellent patient comfort and the ability to quickly and easily change between a static and dynamic surface without disturbing the patient. The Invacare booth also will highlight a number of products suited for retail showrooms and cash sales, including the Invacare® Rio bath lift.
“Everything that Invacare and our partners do, from our new product and service introductions to our government relations efforts, is targeted towards making our customers successful and, in turn, advancing the home medical equipment industry. Homecare is the trifecta of healthcare: it is patient preferred, has better clinical outcomes and is more cost-effective than institutionalized care. Invacare and its partners make life’s experiences possible,” continued Ellacott.
Invacare Corporation (NYSE:IVC), headquartered in Elyria, Ohio, is the global leader in the manufacture and distribution of innovative home and long-term care medical products that promote recovery and active lifestyles. The Company has 6,200 associates and markets its products in 80 countries around the world. The Company was named to the 2011 Fortune 1000 list. For more information about the Company and its products, visit Invacare’s website at www.invacare.com.
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Invacare Corporation
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Lara Mahoney, 440-329-6393