I-Flow Announces That Medicare Now Covers ON-Q(R) under Hospital Outpatient Payment System.Effective January 1, 2007 Medicare Designates ON-Q Payable and Medically Necessary medically necessary Managed care adjective Referring to a covered service or treatment that is absolutely necessary to protect and enhance the health status of a Pt, and could adversely affect the Pt's condition if omitted, in accordance with accepted for Post-Surgical Pain Relief LAKE FOREST, Calif. -- I-Flow Corporation (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :IFLO) announced that effective January 1, 2007 Medicare covers ON-Q[R] to treat post-surgical pain under the hospital outpatient payment system (OPPS OPPS Outpatient Prospective Payment System (hospital/medical) ). The decision by Medicare to change the designation of the code that includes ON-Q (A4306) signifies that Medicare has recognized this therapy to be a payable covered benefit and therefore medically necessary. "Medicare's recognition that ON-Q is medically necessary is yet another step towards our goal of establishing ON-Q as the standard of care for post-surgical pain relief," commented Donald M. Earhart, I-Flow's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We believe and are excited that the benefits of ON-Q, which include providing significantly better pain relief than narcotics narcotics n. 1) techinically, drugs which dull the senses. 2) a popular generic term for drugs which cannot be legally possessed, sold, or transported except for medicinal uses for which a physician or dentist's prescription is required. after surgery and significantly reducing the need for narcotics, have been recognized by Medicare. We expect that Medicare's recognition will positively influence private insurance companies to follow suit and, thus, get more patients back to normal faster following their surgery," he added. I-Flow believes there are over 15 million surgeries performed annually in the U.S. where ON-Q can be used to deliver superior outcomes and I-Flow estimates that half are performed on an outpatient basis. To date, ON-Q's market leadership has been propelled by hospital inpatient procedures and I-Flow believes that this decision by Medicare represents a growth opportunity. As a result of Medicare's decision, hospitals will need to list the ON-Q device code and its cost on outpatient claims so that ambulatory payment classification rates can be adjusted accordingly. About ON-Q ON-Q is now labeled to significantly reduce pain better than narcotics and to significantly reduce narcotics intake after surgery. ON-Q is a simple yet elegant device that consists of a small balloon pump that holds a local anesthetic local anesthetic n. An agent that, when applied directly to mucous membranes or when injected about the nerves, produces loss of sensation by inhibiting nerve excitation or conduction. (a pain-numbing medicine) and delivers it automatically through a specially designed catheter catheter /cath·e·ter/ (kath´e-ter) 1. a tubular, flexible surgical instrument that is inserted into a cavity of the body to withdraw or introduce fluid. 2. urethral c. to provide even distribution of local anesthetic over a wider area, as compared to other catheters, because of its patented wicking wicking Infectious disease Enhanced penetration of liquids, and small pathogens, through minute holes in latex membranes–eg, surgical gloves, which may develop when washed with surfactants, an effect that militates against the re-use of certain materials capabilities. Currently, more than 55 studies on the use of ON-Q have been completed and published or presented and more are underway to demonstrate the benefits of ON-Q in additional areas such as reduced infection risk, combination therapies (e.g., local anesthetic and antibiotic mixtures, a combination of a local anesthetic and an anti-inflammatory), pediatrics and chronic pain. To learn more about the benefits of ON-Q visit www.AskYourSurgeon.com. About I-Flow I-Flow Corporation (www.IFLO.com) designs, develops and markets technically advanced, low cost drug delivery systems and services that are redefining the standard of care by providing life enhancing, cost effective solutions for pain relief. "Safe Harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. " Statement Certain disclosures made by the Company in this press release and in other reports and statements released by the Company are and will be forward looking in nature, such as comments that express the Company's opinions about trends and factors that may impact future operating results. Disclosures that use words such as the Company "believes", "anticipates", or "expects" or use similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. . Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those expected, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to republish re·pub·lish tr.v. re·pub·lished, re·pub·lish·ing, re·pub·lish·es 1. To publish again. 2. Law To revive (a libel or a canceled will). revised forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Readers are also urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made by the Company in this release, which seek to advise interested parties of the risks, and other factors that affect the Company's business, as well as in the Company's periodic reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The risks affecting the Company's business include, among others: successful consummation of the previously announced sale of InfuSystem, Inc; physician acceptance of infusion-based therapeutic regimens; implementation of our direct sales strategy; dependence on our suppliers and distributors; reliance on the success of the home health care industry; our continuing compliance with applicable laws and regulations, such as the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act a regulation in the United States which requires all drugs used in animals to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. , and the FDA's concurrence CONCURRENCE, French law. The equality of rights, or privilege which several persons-have over the same thing; as, for example, the right which two judgment creditors, Whose judgments were rendered at the same time, have to be paid out of the proceeds of real estate bound by them. Dict. de Jur. h.t. with our management's subjective judgment on compliance issues; the reimbursement Reimbursement Payment made to someone for out-of-pocket expenses has incurred. system currently in place and future changes to that system; competition in the industry; economic and political conditions in foreign countries; currency exchange rates; inadequacy of booked reserves; technological changes; and product availability and acceptance. All forward-looking statements, whether made in this release or elsewhere, should be considered in context with the various disclosures made by the Company about its business. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion