The Continuum of Care Coalition Champions for Medicare and Medicaid Beneficiaries

     The Continuum of Care Coalition (C-3), a non-profit corporation, recently assumed the mantel as champions for Medicare and Medicaid Beneficiaries. C-3 has added the goal of deconsolidation of wound care from Consolidated Billing/Prospective Payment Programs to its agenda. The effort was started by American Medical Technologies (Irvine, Calif) in 2004. The program has the potential to reduce national health care costs by more than $2.2 billion annually and to improve the quality of care for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

     The C-3 goal is to remove active wound care products from the “standardized” payment made for “usual and normal” services. By allowing separate reimbursement for wound care, early intervention can begin and more positive outcomes achieved sooner.

     Visit www.deconsolidatenow.org or call 609-249-7944 for more information.

InnovationRx Partners with Advanced BioHealing Inc for New Patient Support Program

     InnovationRx (Newton, Mass) recently partnered with Advanced BioHealing Inc (La Jolla, Calif) to conduct a pilot program providing support for patients receiving Dermagraft® treatment, a human derived dermal substitute approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. The pilot program, which will be launched in Dallas, Texas and tested in other US cities, will assist both patients and healthcare providers in addressing various issues that negatively impact patient compliance during their treatment for diabetic foot ulcers. The goal of this is to determine whether a program can be developed that addresses some of the cultural and socioeconomic issues that tend to plague patients with active diabetic foot ulcers, and improve the overall treatment outcomes.

     Visit www.innovationrx.com or www.advancedbiohealing.com for more information.

Oxygen Biotherapeutics Submits Request to FDA for Oxycyte® Wound Care Gel

     Oxygen Biotherapeutics Inc (Costa Mesa, Calif) announced that the company recently submitted a preliminary Request For Designation (RFD) to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its first wound care product, Oxycyte® Gel. The RFD submission is part of a process that correlates with the FDA for determining which agency component will have primary jurisdiction for a drug, device, or biological product.

     The gel is in a single-dose packaging delivered as an ointment onto wounds and is protected by a standard bandage. It has substantially higher oxygen permeability than most wound ointments currently on the market. The gel is the company’s perfluorocarbon (PFC) therapeutic oxygen carrier. While the gel has capabilities for the treatment of a large variety of wounds ranging from simple abrasions and minor burns to more complex, nonhealing, chronic wounds, the company plans on applying the gel broadly to multiple products for a range of indications.

     Visit www. oxybiomed.com for more information.

Tissue Program Reinforces Importance of Changing Dressing

     As a result of tumultuous economic times, the professionals of Advanced Tissue (Little Rock, Ark) have become aware of the growing trend of patients trying to extend their wound care supplies by purposely delaying follow-up clinic visits. As a result of this trend, the company designed a new program that specifically reminds patients to change their wound dressings as instructed by their doctor or clinician.