IMDA eNews 120623

The latest news affecting you and your customers…

from the Independent Medical Specialty Dealers Association

Make your company differ from the rest

Learn to differentiate your company in 2024 by attending the IMDA/HIRA Annual Conference and Manufacturers Forum, March 1-4, in Orlando. Value analysis expert Dee Donatelli will be there to show you how to help your customers achieve their most important goal — helping clinicians deliver patient care with the highest value by achieving clinical integration in the supply chain. Always an in-demand presenter, Dee will demonstrate how to present the value of your offerings concisely and accompanied by verifiable data about patient outcomes and total cost. Registration is open for the conference.

Some syringes under FDA’s watchful eye

The FDA issued a safety communication to inform consumers and healthcare providers that the agency is evaluating the potential for device failures (such as leaks, breakages, particles in the syringes, and other problems) with syringes manufactured in China, particularly those used for injecting fluids into or withdrawing fluids from the body. (At this time, the issue does not include glass syringes, pre-filled syringes, or syringes used for oral or topical purposes.) While the FDA continues its evaluation, providers should consider using syringes not manufactured in China, if possible.

Prone positioning of COVID patients may have been overstated

Despite promising findings in observational studies, prone positioning of patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) – mostly from COVID — undergoing venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) failed to reduce ECMO duration or mortality in a randomized trial, reports MedPage Today. Among ARDS patients receiving ECMO, an identical 44% of patients were successfully weaned off ECMO after 60 days whether they were placed in sessions of prone positioning or simply kept supine.

Sleep apnea measured by a pill?

What if, instead of going into a sleep lab or being connected to monitoring devices, a patient could have their risk of obstructive sleep apnea measured by swallowing a pill? A new collaborative study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Celero Systems and West Virginia University evaluated a wireless ingestible device that can accurately report vital signs like heart and respiratory rate. The team tested the device, known as the Vitals Monitoring Pill (VM Pill), in a pilot clinical study of 10 people with sleep apnea. It was also able to detect signs of opioid-induced respiratory depression in a preclinical model. Obstructive sleep apnea, a condition in which the upper airway becomes partially or fully blocked when asleep, affects millions of adults in the United States. Evaluating sleep apnea usually involves connections to complicated monitoring devices that can be burdensome to the patient.

2024 Conference: Registration is open!

There’ll be plenty of learning inside and outside the meeting rooms at the 2024 IMDA/HIRA Conference in Orlando, Florida, March 4-6. In general sessions, you’ll receive updates on issues like how to deal with the threat of cyberattacks and email scams, What Value Analysis is up to, what is going on with AI and how it can help in sales, along with much much more. (Sneak Peek - Every attendee will get a free subscription worth $3000 if you are a dealer, or $6000 if you are a manufacturer to a service that will be very valuable to your organization). Outside the meeting rooms you’ll exchange ideas with peers during cocktails and shared meals, the Manufacturers Forum, and, of course, the golf course for those of that persuasion. Come to the 2024 IMDA/HIRA Conference. There’ll be a whole lot of learning going on. And it’s all for just $750 for IMDA members. Click here for registration information.