A Medical Device Daily

Air Methods (Denver), a medical transportation company, reported that its products division has been awarded a contract in excess of $15 million from General Dynamics Land Systems (Falls Church, Virginia). The contract calls for Air Methods to provide more than 300 patient loading systems to General Dynamics for the U.S. Army Stryker medical evacuation vehicle.

Production has started and is anticipated to be completed by 3Q10.

"Air Methods is proud to once again provide patient loading systems for the Stryker medical evacuation vehicle," said Art Torwirt, vice president, Air Methods Products Division. "These vehicles have proven to be a tremendous success in providing treatment to soldiers with serious injuries on the new modern non-linear battlefield."

The medical evacuation vehicle is a specialized version of the Stryker armored vehicle utilized by the U.S. Army to transport and provide lifesaving medical care for up to four litter patients. The patient-loading system is able to quickly convert from the litter configuration into a seating configuration to transport ambulatory patients or personnel, providing versatility to the vehicle.

In other agreements/contracts news:

• Gateway Health Plan (Pittsburgh) said that it has signed an agreement with Cleveland Clinic Hospitals, adding the health system to the Gateway Health Plan Medicare Assured managed care network in Ohio.

Gateway Health Plan Medicare Assured is a Medicare-approved Special Needs Plan for Ohioans who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid.

Under the agreement, effective Oct. 1, Gateway members living in the 12-county area served by Gateway may now receive covered services from Cleveland Clinic facilities.

The new contract focuses on three Cleveland Clinic Hospitals: Huron, Lakewood and Lutheran. With this agreement, Gateway Health Plan adds practitioners in 80 clinical specialties and subspecialties.

The PGxHealth division of Clinical Data (both Newton, Massachusetts) said it has become an in-network provider with Aetna (Blue Bell, Pennsylvania) for healthcare coverage of its Familion family of genetic tests.

By detecting genetic mutations, the tests are used to recognize inherited forms of cardiac channelopathies, such as long QT syndrome and cardiomyopathies, such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, in individuals and their families and help to guide treatment decisions to prevent possible sudden cardiac death.

With the new in-network coverage for Aetna patients, Familion tests have positive reimbursement policies from private and public insurers covering an estimated 155 million lives, an increase of 100 million covered lives since the beginning of the year.

• Smiths Medical (Rockland, Massachusetts) reported that it has been awarded a three-year supply agreement for specialty infusion pumps by Novation (Irving, Texas). The agreement becomes effective Dec. 1.

The agreement includes syringe pumps and ambulatory Pumps, including the new, next generation CADD-Solis system. With this agreement, Smiths Medical expands the reach of its specialty infusion pumps to members of VHA and Provista (both Irving, Texas).