Author: Isaac Mowder

Anthem plans to acquire Cigna for $48.3 billion; Aetna announces plans to purchase Humana for $37 billion. Is this good news or bad? While market consolidation can improve efficiencies and drive competition that benefits vendors and consumers, too much consolidation can lead to disaster for everyone History is rife with examples of over-consolidation and virtual […]... Read More

It’s been almost a year since Smiths Medical discontinued production of the CADD Prizm VIP Ambulatory Infusion Pump and customers are finding them increasingly more difficult to obtain.  Smiths’ hope was that customers would migrate to their CADD Solis VIP device, launched in 2011, as a newer alternative to the Prizm.  The Solis VIP (variable […]... Read More

Most alternate site providers and specialty pharmacies associate the ACA with higher costs, but not Paul Mastrapa, CEO of Option Care. While many health plans are designed in a way that drives patients to higher-cost settings, companies like Option Care have begun to work with regional and national plans to realign member incentives such as […]... Read More

The new USP chapter <800> guidelines for hospital and institutional pharmacies may be published in early 2016, but pharmacies will be well served by beginning to plan now. In a recent article published by Pharmacy Times Patricia C. Kienle, MPA, BSPharm, FASHP, director of accreditation and medication safety for Cardinal Health Pharmacy Solutions and a […]... Read More

The summer sun is shining – which means many of your patients are somewhere else. Re-admission slowdowns and low patient census create the right opportunity for maintenance and upgrades for your infusion pumps. One upgrade that many pharmacies consider is to pole mounted infusion pump technology. The summer months make it a perfect time for […]... Read More

“Switching Costs” are well known in enterprise software. In fact they are often deliberately designed. Companies know that the harder and more expensive it is for you to switch from their software to a competitor, the less likely you are to switch – even when it makes overwhelming sense for you to do so. You’ve […]... Read More

Given equivalent ingredients and preparation, a well-presented dish will always beat a poorly presented one on “taste” in the minds of customers. A pleasingly decorated hotel room will always be more “comfortable”. In short, restaurants and hotels know that perception matters. The focus on patient outcomes within the healthcare industry certainly isn’t news, however effectively […]... Read More

Over the past two weeks many of the nation’s leading home infusion, institutional, and long term care pharmacies converged on the deserts of Nevada and Arizona to participate in the National Home Infusion Associations (NHIA) yearly conference and the Managed Healthcare Associates (MHA) long term care business summit. The themes for both gatherings remained consistent […]... Read More

What do smart watches, pedometers, heart-rate monitors, and other high-tech connected consumer wearables have to do with the future of medical devices? You see them everywhere, sleek wrist straps connected to thin displays that offer a wealth of information, all automatically sent and stored to smart phone apps. I’m looking at one on my wrist […]... Read More

In a recent article, Innovation at the hospital: Time for health care to catch up to other industries, by Dick Escue, chief information officer at Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs, Colo., Dick discusses information technology and the effects that healthcare reform is having on hospital systems across the country.  It shouldn’t come as a surprise […]... Read More

Earlier this month it was announced that Pfizer Inc. purchased Hospira Inc. for a reported 15 billion with the goal of boosting its offering of select injectable and other medications. The focus for Pfizer has always been on very specific oral medications with brands such as Viagra and Aricept, the question in the room for […]... Read More

In a recent article it was reported that The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is asking hundreds of its largest vendors to give a 20 percent discount. Based upon the overall tone, the health system feels that this is a necessity due to the changing climate and the increasing demand placed upon many healthcare […]... Read More