GLG News by Economic Experts on Medical Devices (US)

Martin GoldPrincipalTECHNOLOGY ACCESS PARTNERS LLC

Will We Never Learn From Past Mistakes?

July 29, 2009

Analysis of:Mass. Panel Backs Radical Shift in Health Payment | www.nytimes.com

The idea of global payments is not a new one. This was attempted in the 1990's as part of insurer/provider risk-sharing arrangements. The dollars that providers will be given will have to be less than the amount the insurer spent on member care or no savings will be achieved. Providers will be required to recreate the administrative infrastructure of an insurance company along with the accompanying expense. Gatekeeper model managed care failed in the 1990s for all of these reasons.

Martin GoldPrincipalTECHNOLOGY ACCESS PARTNERS LLC

How Low Will Patient Volume Go?

January 7, 2009

Analysis of:Hospitals See Drop in Paying Patients | www.nytimes.com

Hospitals are experiencing a reduction in the number of Commercial/Privately Insured patients seeking elective procedures. Some hospitals are more significantly impacted by this than others. How low will the patient volume drop and how long will this reduction last?

Martin GoldPrincipalTECHNOLOGY ACCESS PARTNERS LLC

Conmed Under-performance is a Foreshadowing of Things to Come

January 6, 2009

Analysis of:Conmed lowers outlook as hospitals tighten budgets | www.boston.com

Conmed has indicated that sales of its devices have fallen partially due to the budget tightening at hospitals. While the company minimized the this issue in their statement it is just the tip of the iceberg.

Martin GoldPrincipalTECHNOLOGY ACCESS PARTNERS LLC

Medical Devices that Communicate: Great Concept but Insurers Won't Pay

January 5, 2009

Analysis of:Medical devices lag in iPod age | www.boston.com

Both consumers and medical experts believe that if medical devices communicate with each other like consumer electronic products, cell phones, iPods, etc., there would be fewer medical error related deaths. In theory device interconnectivity is a great idea, but such capabilities require substantial funding. The research and development expenses industry wide would to accomplish these standards would be astronomical. Should hospitals be demanding these type of capabilities from the device manufacturers? At a time when hospitals are attempting to negotiate LOWER prices for their devices, they are highly unlikely to be wiling to fund such improvements.

Martin GoldPrincipalTECHNOLOGY ACCESS PARTNERS LLC

Analysts Underestimate the Impact of the Recession on Device Manufacturers

January 2, 2009

Analysis of:Medical devices not immune to recession worries | www.boston.com

Poor financial performance and severe lack of credit are causing hospitals to place aggressive pricing pressure on device manufacturers. In addition, many hospitals are reporting a 20-30% reduction in elective procedure volume such as hip and knee replacement surgeries. The combination of the hospital financial environment and the recession will reduce hospital's purchasing volume and reduce the Average Sales Price (ASP) for the devices they purchase.

John HewettPartnerPacific Interventional

Speech Recognition in it's Adolescence

September 4, 2007

Analysis of:Philips SpeechMagic Used In Largest Deployment Of Front-End Radiology Speech Recognition In The UK | www.medicalnewstoday.com

Despite large advances in the utility of speech recognition in medicine, the stated benefits are not fully achieved at this time.  The development of this technology promises significant cost savings and improvements in efficiency especially in the radiology department.  The maturation of this technology will be an important symbiosis to the maturation of imaging and other workflow technologies in radiology.  The key to successful use of speech recognition is judicious implementation.

Martin GoldPrincipalTECHNOLOGY ACCESS PARTNERS LLC

Managed Medicaid: A Good Idea or a Recipe for Disaster?

August 23, 2007

Analysis of:Medicaid moving to managed care plans | www.goupstate.com

Managed Medicaid is not a new concept. Over the last two decades, many states have implemented Managed Medicaid programs under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) 1115b Waiver program. The waiver program allowed states to implement Managed Medicaid programs as demonstration projects. Medicaid costs are becoming and increasingly larger portion of state budgets and many states are looking for ways to control or reduce these costs. These programs have implications for healthcare providers that service these patients, as well as device and drug manufacturers that provide products that treat health problems prevalent in this target population such as diabetes, chronic wounds, various pediatric illnesses and HIV treatments.

Martin GoldPrincipalTECHNOLOGY ACCESS PARTNERS LLC

Medicare's Proposes Major Cuts in Physician Reimbursement

July 20, 2007

Analysis of:AMA warns of threat to doctors' pay | pressherald.mainetoday.com

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has proposed a 9.9% cut in payment to physicians for 2008. This is a very real possibility and results from a legislative requirement that the Agency is required to act upon. Congress has stepped in each year for the last five years to counteract reductions in payment since only an act of Congress can countermand this legislation. This reduction will have major impact on the sales of certain medical devices.

Martin GoldPrincipalTECHNOLOGY ACCESS PARTNERS LLC

FDA Nano Task Force, Good or Bad?

August 30, 2006

Analysis of:FDA Forms Internal Nanotechnology Task Force | pharmalive.com

The FDA has formed a task force specifically to address nanotechnology.  It is the FDA's intention to hold public hearings in order to gain a better understanding of this technology.

Martin GoldPrincipalTECHNOLOGY ACCESS PARTNERS LLC

Great Concept But Who Will Pay The Price?

August 30, 2006

Analysis of:Smart Care via a Mouse, but What Will It Cost? | www.nytimes.com

Both software vendors and Congress perceive the electronic medical record as "as a fast-growing, multibillion-dollar opportunity to sell health information technology to hospitals, clinics and doctors."

Dr. Brian Strom alludes to the fact that, contrary to other opinions, electronic medical records may not reduce the costs of health care.

In addition, the concept that having such a record system may create a "potential for market-disrupting cost savings" is based upon very limited experiences by the Veterans Affairs health system and Kaiser Permanente, organizations that are both the payer and provider.

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