Say Goodbye to CFC MDIs As a reminder, the time to say goodbye to CFC (chlorofluorocarbon) propelled metered dose inhalers (MDI) is here. After the last day of 2008, your pharmacy will no longer be allowed to dispense the inhalers that are thought to harm the earth’s ozone layer. They are being replaced…
Just the Facts! Medicare Payments for Oxygen Concentrators The oxygen user will not assume ownership of his or her concentrator. Beginning January 1, 2009, payments for your concentrator from Medicare to your oxygen provider will stop after 36 months. Your supplier will continue to be responsible to service your equipment–for example, changing the…
Respiratory News A proposal to give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the power to regulate tobacco products appears dead for the year, but anti-smoking advocates say they expect it to pass in 2009. The measure passed the House this summer with overwhelming support, but a threat from Sen. Richard Burr from North…
Product Corner Eagle Respiratory Solu- tions, LLC markets a shoul- der bag to carry liquid oxygen portables up to size D tanks. The creator of the Freedom Sling, Joe Walsh, says he is first and foremost a patient with IPF (Idio- pathic Pulmonary Fibrosis). Out of necessity to free up his hands, Joe…
Traveling Tales Masks Solution to O2 Pressure Drop in 1930s At a party in 1937, the president of Northwest Airlines told Dr. Charles Mayo, son of one of the founders of the Mayo Clinic, about a recurring health problem among his pilots. They would become drowsy while flying at 13,000 feet or higher over…
Respiratory News Haemair Ltd., a company based in the United Kingdom, is developing a device that may act as an artificial lung and be an alternative to people awaiting a lung transplant. The Haemair Device directly removes carbon dioxide and adds oxygen to blood bypassing the lungs. It is devised to keep up…
Traveling Tales San Francisco to Tijuana on Two-Wheels There have been many articles written about hitting the road. This one holds a lot of meaning for one person with respiratory problems. Four years ago, oxygen user Mark Junge, com- pleted a 3,400-mile bicycle journey from San Francisco to New York City. Mr. Junge…
Fibrosis File Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA) and Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE) have introduced the Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act – HR 6567. They each hold a personal interest as Rep. Castle lost his brother and sister and Rep. Baird’s father passed away from the disease. The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis (CPF) now needs…
Respiratory News News from Montreal is a “big step forward” in the potential treatment of incurable disease was made by genetically modifying the patient’s own stem cells. An experimental treatment on two Quebec volunteers with pulmonary hypertension had an almost immediate drop in pressure in the lungs by 10 percent to 15 percent.…
Radiofrequency Ablation Offers Some Hope WebMd reports, “Radiofrequency ablation (“RFA”) is a tumor-zapping device that increases survival in patients with small, inoperable lung cancers, according to an international clinical trial. RFA was used to zap 183 lung tumors in 106 patients rejected for surgery and con- sidered unfit for radiation or chemotherapy. Despite…