Abbott announced that UnitedHealthcare (UHC), the largest private health insurance company in the United States, has updated its ‘Implanted Electrical Stimulator for Spinal Cord’ medical policy to expand patient access to Abbott’s dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurostimulation devices for people suffering from chronic pain when medical policy criteria are met. This updated medical policy covers 26 million UHC commercial members and will go into effect on March 1, 2022.

UnitedHealthcare’s new coverage assessment provides access to Abbott’s non-opioid DRG stimulation, the world’s only neurostimulator specifically designed to treat complex nerve pain conditions caused by complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) or peripheral causalgia, which are forms of chronic pain that that affect the lower extremities up to the hips, including the pelvis, after an injury or surgery. An estimated 50 million Americans suffer from chronic pain for whom DRG stimulation represents an important new treatment option.iii

“The addition of coverage for a DRG stimulation therapy by one of the nation’s largest insurers is an important development for patients living with chronic pain who have exhausted other treatments,” said Kiran Patel, M.D., Spine and Pain Institute of New York. “The new clinical guidance from UnitedHealthcare means that people will now have the ability to consider Abbott’s DRG treatment as an accessible option to manage their chronic pain.”

CRPS and causalgia usually follow trauma, amputation, or surgery, such as hernia repair, knee or hip replacement, and result in chronic burning or stinging pain, numbness, hypersensitivity to touch, and chronic persistent pain in the lower limbs. These conditions have historically been challenging to treat because of the disruption in how the nervous system processes or transmits pain signals often resulting in long-lasting disabling chronic pain.

For patients suffering from CRPS or causalgia, DRG neurostimulation has been found to provide greater pain relief when compared to traditional spinal cord stimulation.iv

DRG therapy works by stimulating the dorsal root ganglia (DRG), a bundle of nerves located on the outside of the spinal cord. These nerve structures along the spinal column are made up of densely populated sensory nerves, and act like traffic lights, regulating signals and sensations that travel through nerve fibers along the spinal column to the brain. DRG stimulation therapy involves implanting a small battery device, typically in the abdomen or buttock,i and running thin insulated wires, called leads, near the DRG. The leads deliver electrical pulses to the nerves, which block pain signals from traveling to the spinal cord and the brain thereby reducing pain in specific locations in the body.

“Neuropathic pain is one of the most prevalent and under-treated forms of chronic pain,” said Pedro Malha, vice president of Abbott’s neuromodulation business. “The new coverage guidance by UnitedHealthcare to offer these patients DRG stimulation is yet another step forward in providing people with a safe and effective treatment alternative for their chronic pain. We are working with a number of other commercial payors to continue to extend the benefits of DRG stimulation therapy so as many people as possible can benefit.”

Abbott’s Proclaim™ dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurostimulation system is the only FDA-approved DRG technology for the treatment of CRPS I and causalgia of the lower extremities.i The system is low maintenance and recharge free, meaning patients do not need to pause from their daily activities to charge their battery as with other systems. Using Bluetooth® wireless connectivity, patients can feel empowered by controlling their prescribed stimulation levels through a familiar Apple iPod touch® device or app on their iPhone. It is also compatible with Abbott’s NeuroSphere™ Virtual Clinic, a first-of-its-kind technology that allows patients to communicate with physicians and receive new treatment settings remotely without having to travel to their physician’s office. Patients are able to try DRG stimulation with a weeklong therapy trial, or temporary evaluation, before receiving a permanent implant.

About Abbott’s Chronic Pain Portfolio

Chronic pain can negatively impact personal relationships, work productivity and a person’s daily routine. Abbott is a global leader in the development of chronic pain therapy solutions, offering radiofrequency therapy and spinal cord stimulation therapy solutions, including radiofrequency ablation generators and accessories, BurstDR™ stimulation, and dorsal root ganglion stimulation in the portfolio of chronic pain treatments.

About Abbott

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 113,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.

Magellan Rx Management, the full-service pharmacy benefits management division of Magellan Health, Inc., and Zipline, the global leader in instant logistics, announced a partnership to deliver prescription medications, including specialty medications that treat chronic, complex conditions, directly to patients’ homes via autonomous aircraft.

Magellan Rx will be the first pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) to deliver specialty and traditional medications through Zipline, which designs, manufactures and operates the world’s largest automated on-demand delivery service. Initially, this option will be available to Magellan Rx members in the North Carolina service area and will provide a re-imagined consumer-centric approach to support patients on their healthcare journey.

Magellan Rx expects to begin operations in 2022, pending approvals from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and will operate from Zipline’s existing distribution center in Kannapolis, North Carolina, which is capable of serving customers within 7,800 square miles. Through automated on-demand delivery, healthcare organizations and patients can receive the medications they need in as little as fifteen minutes.

“The team at Magellan Rx Management is thrilled to collaborate with Zipline and be the first PBM to deliver specialty and traditional medications via drone,” said Mostafa Kamal, chief executive officer at Magellan Rx Management. “For us, it is about challenging the status quo, and leveraging cutting edge technology to reimagine the ways in which we can improve access, care, and quality for individuals with complex and rare conditions who are often challenged with additional hurdles on their healthcare journey. Reliable, on-demand deliveries with Zipline help us advance our existing consumer-centric approach where patients can get the critical medications they need delivered, on their time, when they need them, right to their own homes.”

“Instant logistics can transform health outcomes for those that need it most,” said Keller Rinaudo, founder and CEO at Zipline. “With Magellan Rx Management, we’re working to reimagine the patient experience, bring care closer to home, and ultimately help patients treat and manage chronic and complex health conditions.”

Magellan Rx Management is joining a growing number of organizations including health systems, governments, and leading global companies that are partnering with Zipline around the world. To date, Zipline has flown more than 16 million miles, completed over 235,000 commercial deliveries, and will soon operate in five countries. On average, Zipline makes a delivery once every four minutes.

About Magellan Rx Management:
Magellan Rx Management, a division of Magellan Health, Inc., is shaping the future of pharmacy. As a next-generation pharmacy organization, we deliver meaningful solutions to the people we serve. As pioneers in specialty drug management, industry leaders in Medicaid pharmacy programs and disruptors in pharmacy benefit management, we partner with our customers and members to deliver a best-in-class healthcare experience.

About Magellan Health:
Magellan Health, Inc. is a leader in managing the fastest growing, most complex areas of health, including special populations, complete pharmacy benefits and other specialty areas of healthcare. Magellan supports innovative ways of accessing better health through technology, while remaining focused on the critical personal relationships that are necessary to achieve a healthy, vibrant life. Magellan’s customers include health plans and other managed care organizations, employers, labor unions, various military and governmental agencies and third-party administrators.

About Zipline:
Zipline is the global instant logistics leader. Our purpose is to inspire possibility, transform systems and serve all people equally. We design, manufacture and operate the world’s largest automated on-demand delivery service, which to date has made more than 235,000 commercial deliveries containing more than 5 million units of vaccines and other medical products, reducing delivery emissions by 98% compared to traditional methods. Zipline is the trusted partner for governments, global brands and leading health care systems.

Bruker Corporation announced the acquisition of PepSep, a Danish company specializing in nanoflow liquid chromatography (nanoLC) columns, specialty emitters and components to optimize nanoflow proteomics workflows, which are extensively used in Bruker’s nanoElute® UHPLC system. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded by Peter Nielsen, PepSep makes unique columns that minimize post-column eluent mixing. This innovation gives excellent nanoLC performance with a standard connector, enhancing robust, routine ease-of-use as the emitter-tip remains in position while the column is exchanged.

Peter Nielsen said: “It is great to be part of Bruker as it allows the PepSep team to focus on innovation in separations for ultra-high throughput proteomics on the timsTOF platform. Matching separations technology that is ultra-robust and delivers the best sensitivity for high-speed TIMS/PASEF detection, with the ease of use of non-integrated tips was important, and we now can continue to develop chemistries to drive performance enhancements for 4D-Proteomics and 4D-Lipidomics applications.”

Dr. Brett Phinney, Proteomics Core Director at the UC Davis Genome Center, has been using PepSep products for about a year, and stated: “I’m happy to use PepSep columns in my laboratory. They are better than what I can make myself, and my short gradient results are impressive. These are by far the best columns I’ve used to date.”

Bruker is also pleased to announce an OEM partnership and agreement with IonOpticks Pty Ltd in Melbourne, Australia. IonOpticks was founded by Associate Professor Andrew Webb from The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) and his colleagues Drs. Jarrod Sandow and Guiseppe Infusini. IonOpticks offers Aurora columns with nanoZero® UHPLC fitting and integrated packed emitter tips that result in excellent peak shapes and maximized separation power. Andrew Webb and team created a unique emitter design with no post-column dead volume and the user friendly ‘plug and play’ nanoZero connection. IonOpticks will now produce the Bruker Focus series nanoLC columns with identical performance as the Aurora series.

Dr. Andrew Webb commented: “Ultra-high throughput proteomics, where we analyze large patient cohorts, will allow us to compare signatures not just across disease states but to truly understand disease in the context of health. My WEHI lab was an early adopter of the timsTOF technology which allowed us to run faster methods, and the Aurora columns deliver the ultra-high sensitivity with unmatched robustness required to run 50 SPD (samples per day) methods.”

Dr. Michael Krawitzky, Bruker’s Product Manager for LC-MS consumables, stated: “The addition of PepSep’s column portfolio combined with the IonOpticks high-performance pulled tip columns provide our timsTOF customers more nanoLC choices to advance their applications. Our timsTOF customers expect excellent sensitivity and robustness, which this combined Bruker and OEM nanoLC portfolio will add.”

About Bruker Corporation

Bruker is enabling scientists to make breakthrough discoveries and develop new applications that improve the quality of human life. Bruker’s high performance scientific instruments and high value analytical and diagnostic solutions enable scientists to explore life and materials at molecular, cellular and microscopic levels. In close cooperation with our customers, Bruker is enabling innovation, improved productivity, and customer success in life science molecular and cell biology research, in applied and pharma applications, in microscopy and nanoanalysis, as well as in industrial applications. Bruker offers differentiated, high-value life science and diagnostics systems and solutions in preclinical imaging, clinical phenomics research, proteomics and multiomics, spatial and single-cell biology, functional structural and condensate biology, as well as in clinical microbiology and molecular diagnostics.

Net Health announced the availability of Patient Engagement Marketing. The new suite of tools enables providers in various healthcare settings to expand their businesses and boost revenue using digital technologies that improve patient acquisition, retention and engagement.

The new solution is available for all clients of the company’s specialty electronic health record (EHR) solutions in therapy, wound care, home health, hospice and occupational health.

Developed by industry experts and through close collaboration with clients, the comprehensive solution enables providers to market their businesses using digital tools such as automated online reputation building with local near-me search and reputation management. The range of features helps providers enhance their relationships with patients through highly personalized communications that are efficient, timely, and easy to use. Additionally, providers are able to maximize existing staff and resources and increase convenience for patients with features like digital intake forms and patient appointment requests.

“Patient Engagement Marketing brings two critical benefits to healthcare providers,” said Josh Pickus, CEO of Net Health. “First, it allows providers to attract and retain more patients without sacrificing their focus on providing care. Second, it allows providers to engage with patients in a meaningful manner. Good communication is one of the most important dimensions for motivating patients to complete their care plans, which can significantly improve outcomes.”

Offers Deeper View of Patient Experience

Patient Engagement Marketing enables a deeper view of patients’ entire experience with their providers, incorporating all communications and clinic marketing tools into one comprehensive solution. Benefits include:

Automated Online Reputation Building – Patient Engagement Marketing automates and improves patient review capture, promotion, and online reputation management. It optimizes online directories to increase the likelihood prospective patients will find and choose the client’s facility over competitors.

Personalized Patient Communication – Clinics can connect with patients outside of visits, strengthening patient-provider relationships and enhancing the overall experience. Throughout treatment, patients are kept on track and motivated with timely, personalized messages using their preferred method (SMS/email). The tailored approach increases the ease with which patients can participate in their treatment and boosts satisfaction.

Digitized Patient Experience – Patient Engagement Marketing maximizes existing staff and resources by minimizing time spent on routine patient follow-up (digital intake forms, patient satisfaction surveys, review requests, appointment reminders, etc.) with automated patient-provider messaging integrated directly into the EHR. Intake forms are digitally and automatically uploaded to the EHR, saving patients time in the clinic. Patients also can request appointments at their convenience without calling the clinic.

Advanced Patient Outcomes – For therapy providers, Patient Engagement Marketing also incorporates Net Health’s FOTO, the industry leading patient outcomes management system for rehab therapists. FOTO data collection follows a patient’s journey, capturing their perception of their condition/functional ability from the first visit through discharge. Additionally, leveraging FOTO’s predictive analytics, therapists can show patients the predicted number of visits it will take to meet their functional goals and highlights the progress they’ve made to date. This reduces no-shows and self-discharges, improves plan of care completion rates, and preserves revenue.

About Net Health
Net Health’s mission is to harness data for human health. Net Health solutions are trusted in over 24,000 facilities across the continuum of care. Our EHR software enables caregivers and their organizations to engage effectively with patients, streamline documentation, staff efficiently, secure maximum appropriate reimbursement and maintain regulatory compliance. Our unique approach to analytics seamlessly presents insights in clinical and operational workflows to improve care and business performance. Net Health is a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, Level Equity and Silversmith Capital Partners.

HeartBeam, Inc., a developmental stage digital healthcare company with a proprietary ECG telemedicine technology for heart attack detection, announced it has signed a partnership agreement with LIVMOR Inc., a digital health solutions company, to build a HeartBeam branded version of LIVMOR’s Halo+ FDA cleared turnkey solution for remote patient monitoring (“RPM”) to connect physicians and patients.

Under the terms of the agreement LIVMOR will develop a HeartBeam branded version, the HeartBeam Platform, of the LIVMOR RPM platform customized for HeartBeam products, with senior executives of both companies supervising the project.

“Utilizing LIVMOR’s FDA cleared RPM platform will allow us to meet our schedule for FDA submission of our first product, an easy-to-use heart attack detection software solution for Emergency Department settings,” said Branislav Vajdic, PhD, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of HeartBeam. “LIVMOR has successfully developed a patient-engaging remote monitoring system of critical physiological biomarkers which we believe can be adapted to utilize with our Emergency Department software solution for more accurate MI detection. LIVMOR’s experience in the regulatory process is an important benefit, providing support and assistance for us as we seek to submit the HeartBeam Platform for FDA clearance. We look forward to working with the team at LIVMOR to ready our software for submission to the FDA later this year.”

About LIVMOR

Founded in 2016, LIVMOR is a digital health solutions company whose mission is to assist physicians and medical professionals in addressing the global chronic disease epidemic by providing a patient-engaging remote monitoring system of critical physiological biomarkers. LIVMOR’s goals are to dramatically improve patient outcomes and to significantly reduce healthcare system costs with better quality data for diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases.

About HeartBeam, Inc.

HeartBeam, Inc. (NASDAQ: BEAT) is a development stage digital healthcare company with proprietary ECG telemedicine technology that will redefine the way high risk cardiovascular patients are diagnosed in an ambulatory setting at any time and any place. Its breakthrough solution employs a reusable, credit card sized, 3D vector ECG recording device and cloud-based software capable of assisting a physician in diagnosing a wide range of cardiovascular disease. HeartBeam is initially focusing on a huge unmet need of helping diagnose heart attacks in patients outside of a medical institution. No single lead ECG technology can offer this value to patients and their physicians. This underserved market is several times larger than the cardiac arrhythmia detection market based on the prevalence of patients with coronary artery disease at high risk of heart attack.

Epazz Inc., a mission-critical provider of metaverse solutions, blockchain cryptocurrency mobile apps and cloud-based business software solutions, announced  that its flagship software technology, DeskFlex Metaverse Virtual Office, is developing virtual clinics to take telemedicine to the next level. DeskFlex Metaverse Virtual Clinics will allow physicians to obtain real-time 3D images to conduct patient assessments and consultations, thus streamlining and upgrading telemedicine programs.

DeskFlex Metaverse Virtual Office will extend to the health care industry, including telemedicine applications, by providing virtual clinics. This technology will allow physicians to examine patients in 3D form, consult with them in real-time and discuss treatment courses. It is a 3D version of an online consultation where users can see, touch, hear and feel gestures and movements while communicating with physicians like they would in a face-to-face consultation.

Health care facilities, physicians’ offices, clinics and hospitals can subscribe to the DeskFlex Metaverse Virtual Clinics software and use the application for augmented reality telemedicine. Physicians may instruct their patients to use the virtual clinic for regular checkups and emergency appointments. DeskFlex will ship the Epazz Slims VR glasses to patients so they can access DeskFlex Metaverse Virtual Clinics. Patients can opt to purchase the VR glasses for monthly health consultations or ship them back using return labels for sanitation and reuse.

Epazz will release the DeskFlex Metaverse Virtual Clinics application following the launch of its Metaverse Virtual Office in the second quarter of this year.

Epazz founder, chairman and CEO Dr. Shaun Passley said, “Our goal is to extend our technology into different product lines to create many opportunities for additional revenue streams. We believe DeskFlex Metaverse Virtual Office and Epazz Slims can be used in many ways.”

About Epazz Inc

Epazz Inc. is a critical provider of metaverse solutions, blockchain cryptocurrency mobile apps and cloud-based business software solutions. This cloud-based software company provides customized business solutions to businesses, governments, health care providers and postsecondary institutions. Epazz is developing metaverse business solutions that enable people to collaborate in real-time through virtual reality and upgrading its business solutions to fully integrate into the metaverse. Epazz will manufacture low-cost smart glasses for metaverse design to be lightweight and comfortable for extended periods of wear. DeskFlex provides desk-booking software and metaverse virtual offices.

Insightec, a global healthcare company creating the next generation of patient care by realizing the therapeutic power of acoustic energy, announced the treatment of the first US commercial patient for prostate disease at Stanford Health Care using Insightec’s Exablate Prostate system.

The Insightec Exablate Prostate system uses sound waves to ablate, or destroy, targeted tissue in the prostate. The treatment is performed in a single session under Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) guidance for high resolution visualization of the patient’s anatomy for precise targeting and real-time temperature monitoring. The treatment is incisionless, typically allowing patients to quickly return to normal activity with minimal complications.

“We are deeply committed to continuing to transform patient care with minimally invasive, innovative surgical procedures. The Exablate Prostate system will help support a better quality of life for people diagnosed and living with prostate disease,” commented Maurice R. Ferré MD, Insightec CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Stanford Health Care participated in clinical trials for the Exablate Prostate system and reported minimal damage to adjacent structures and low rates of impact on potency and continence. The Insightec Exablate Prostate system received 510(k) FDA clearance in November 2021, making way for the system to be offered to patients in a commercial facility.

About Insightec

Insightec is a global healthcare company creating the next generation of patient care by realizing the therapeutic power of acoustic energy. The company’s Exablate technology focuses sound waves, safely guided by MRI, to provide treatment to patients with Prostate Disease, Essential Tremor and Parkinson’s Disease. Research for future applications is underway in partnership with leading academic and medical institutions. Insightec is headquartered in Haifa, Israel, and Miami with offices in Dallas, Shanghai, and Tokyo.

DHL Supply Chain, the global and North American contract logistics leader within Deutsche Post DHL Group, announced its Life Sciences and Healthcare (LSHC) sector is investing upwards of $400 million to expand its pharmaceutical and medical device distribution network footprint by 27 percent this year – nearly 3 million additional square feet. With the ultimate goal of bringing critical healthcare products closer to trade partners and patients, DHL Supply Chain’s new investment includes six new U.S. sites by the end of 2022. The investment includes costs to invest in new buildings and technology, as well as the fit-out and start-up of new or expanded operations.

“This latest investment in our Life Sciences and Healthcare sector is testament to our track record and pedigree for delivering unrivalled supply chain expertise to our partners,” said Jim Saponaro, President, Life Sciences & Healthcare, DHL Supply Chain North America. “This substantial expansion will only further deepen the connections between our customers and the patients they serve by providing best-in-class end-to-end supply chain solutions.”

The expansion will grow the list of DHL Supply Chain’s LSHC sites to 34 by the end of 2022, strategically located across the U.S. including; Atlanta, GA, Cincinnati, OH, Memphis, TN, Reno, NV and Lebanon, PA. The new builds will be fully licensed with temperature controlled space that supports pharmaceutical storage requirements. The sites will also allow integrated solutions for both packaging and managed transportation.

DHL Supply Chain boasts myriad services in the life sciences and healthcare sector, including warehousing, secondary packaging, managed transportation, and end-to-end supply chain management services. In fact, LSHC is the fastest growing sector at DHL Supply Chain.

DHL Supply Chain’s LSHC sector aligns with the organization’s Accelerated Digitalization agenda to drive mass deployment of new technology – a key differentiator to other competitors. This strategy enables DHL Supply Chain to continuously increase efficiency and changes the way supply chain operations are run by concentrating on mature technologies like collaborative robotics, autonomous guided vehicles, smart wearables and augmented reality. Automation technology responds to the ongoing labor shortage challenge – not as a replacement – but rather complements our ass