A Medical Device Daily

Derma Sciences (Princeton, New Jersey) has entered into an agreement with MedEfficiency (Wheat Ridge, Colorado) for the exclusive distribution of the company's total contact casts.

MedEfficiency's TCC-EZ cast acts as a protective barrier for the open wounds that often develop on the undersides of diabetic patients' feet, and helps to reduce the more than 80,000 diabetes-related lower extremity amputations that are performed annually in the U.S., at a cost of $2.5 billion for the healthcare system overall.

Derma Sciences CEO Ed Quilty said, "If we are able to increase adoption of a technology that is considered the gold standard for treatment of diabetic foot ulcers, we feel confident this will lead to fewer amputations. As we know, unfortunately, there is a high mortality rate associated with diabetic ulcer-related amputations. Being able to have such a dramatic effect on patients' lives is very rewarding to all of us at Derma Sciences."

Several randomized controlled studies have shown that use of total contact casts leads to significantly improved rates of healing versus all other modalities (89.5% for total contact casts; a 30% improvement over diabetic walking boots, the next closest method). However, until now, use of total contact casting methods has been low, due to the amount of time required for application and the inconsistency in technique.

The TCC-EZ solves both of these problems: the cast is a fiberglass-based knit tubular sock that is rolled onto a patient's foot and lower leg in less than five minutes. This is formed into a cast, which sets in about 10 minutes, greatly reducing the amount of time required for both application and curing of the cast.

Derma Sciences and MedEfficiency said these new efficiencies will act as a major incentive for clinicians to employ total contact casts, and should substantially increase utilization rates. The TCC-EZ also provides additional support and stability for the patient, thus reducing the likelihood of post-treatment injuries as well.

In other agreements/contracts news:

• TeleTracking Technologies (Pittsburgh) has teamed with VHA (Irving, Texas) to offer the national healthcare alliance's 1,400-member hospitals the option to license TeleTracking's patient flow automation technology.

"It's clear that the VHA leadership is committed to helping its members improve patient care, through better patient flow," said Anthony Sanzo, president/CEO of TeleTracking. "This relationship helps VHA bring to its membership an awareness of time tested and proven patient flow automation solutions and years of patient flow expertise with our Avanti patient flow redesign services."

VHA is a provider of supply chain management and performance improvement services to not-for-profit healthcare providers.

• Draeger Medical (Telford, Pennsylvania) reported on its enhanced and exclusive partnership with Intensive Care On-Line Network (ICON; Baltimore) to provide 24/7 clinical and educational support for Draeger ventilation equipment, now including the Babylog 8000+.

ICON has supported Draeger Evita Series ventilator customers in the U.S. and Canada beginning in September 2001 and has since extended support to Savina and Babylog ventilator customers.

ICON uses telephone and broadband technology to connect subscribers to its Critical Care Resource Center, which provides immediate live support for users of Draeger Evita, Savina and now, Babylog 8000+ ventilators.

• AmeriStart (Charlotte, North Carolina) reported that it has signed a sales, marketing and business development services contract with Factory CRO (Bilthoven, The Netherlands). AmeriStart will promote Factory CRO's clinical research capabilities in the growing North American medical device market.

"Factory provides pan-European capabilities and access to key surgeons and clinics – exactly what U.S. device developers need for a faster study start and faster marketing approval," said Dirk Meijer, CEO of Factory CRO.

• Allscripts (Chicago) said that Centre Medical and Surgical Associates (State College, Pennsylvania) has selected the company's electronic health record (EHR) and practice management solution for its 69 providers.

Centre Medical and Surgical Associates includes 53 physicians and 16 mid-level providers in offices located in State College, Boalsburg, Bellefonte and Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. CMSA is replacing its financial automation system with Allscripts - and adding the Allscripts EHR - to improve its ability to provide high quality care more cost-effectively.

• Creative Plan Administrators (CPA; East Hartford, Connecticut), a benefit administrator, reported a partnership with North Star Health (Atlanta), a healthcare data analytics company.

Ed O'Brien, president of CPA, said, "Bundling the North Star Health product, Lumina with our current offering gives us a competitive advantage when selling to self-insured clients. For the first time we have the ability (using the Lumina system) to provide our clients with the technology to analyze, predict and manage healthcare spending while encouraging the employee to participate in their own personal wellness."