eNews March 2, 2026

How is COVID-19 affecting your business, your people, your customers? IMDA is a membership organization, and in times like these, we can all use some camaraderie. If you have a COVID story to share, advice to offer, or a warning to sound, send it to Mark Thill, IMDA’s communications director, at [email protected], with the subject line “IMDA COVID story.” We’ll compile them and send them back out to you.

Sonic pressure wave therapy

Shockwave Medical Inc. (Santa Clara, California), which developed Intravascular Lithotripsy (IVL) to treat severely calcified cardiovascular disease, announced that its sonic pressure wave therapy received Pre-Market Approval from the FDA for severely calcified coronary artery disease. The technology, which was granted Breakthrough Device designation by the FDA, is a new application of lithotripsy, an approach that has been used for decades to break up kidney stones. With this approval, IVL is now commercially available in the United States to treat problematic calcium in the coronary arteries, which can reduce blood flow in the heart.

ICU Survivor Center

Indiana University Health is using an ambulatory post-ICU care clinic to treat COVID-19 patients who survived ICU care and are experiencing coronavirus symptoms after hospital discharge, reports HealthLeaders. An article in the BMJ reports that about 10% of all people who have COVID-19 become so-called long haulers, with symptoms that persist for weeks or months after the acute phase of their illness. The number of long haulers could be much higher among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Since June 2020, the ICU Survivor Center at Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis has treated about 100 COVID-19 patients who survived ICU-level care. Of them, 60% have had physical function issues, such as muscle weakness or difficulty with balance; 44% have had sleep problems; and 38% have had post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. The ICU Survivor Center is available to any patient following an ICU stay, including those from other hospitals. In addition to COVID-19, the organization encourages patients with the following conditions to look into it: shock; sepsis; respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation/life support for 48 hours or more, trauma; or emergency surgery.

Let your vendors know …

Vizient Inc. has opened its application process for suppliers who would like to showcase their innovative technology to hospital decision-makers during the 2021 Vizient Innovative Technology Exchange, which will be held virtually Sept. 21-23. Deadline to submit an application is April 9. The annual Exchange offers selected suppliers the opportunity to demonstrate their technologies to hospital decision makers. Each technology will showcase how it improves clinical outcomes, enhances safety or drives incremental improvements to healthcare delivery or business models. The Exchange is part of Vizient’s Innovative Technology Program, which includes product review of supplier-submitted technologies by member-led councils and task forces.

Bipartisan agreement on supply chain emergency

Shortages of medical supplies came into focus during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, when hospital workers resorted to reusing masks and gloves to try to keep themselves safe, reports NPR. More recently, automakers were forced to shut down plants because of a shortage of computer chips. The supply chain failures are two examples of why the Biden administration wants to jump-start production of critical materials that go into cellphones, computers, cars, medicine and other sectors. An initial 100-day review will look at four products: chips, large capacity batteries used in electric cars, pharmaceuticals, and rare earth minerals. Then, the administration will take a closer look at six sectors: defense, public health and biological preparedness, communications technology, transportation, energy, and food production.

The issue is a rare source of bipartisan agreement in Congress. Biden met with a group of lawmakers who have worked on the problem, including Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who is a sponsor of a bill that would give incentives to new U.S. semiconductor plants. “We all understand this is important, not only to our economy, but to our national security,” he was quoted as saying.