Medical device giant (and inverted to Dublin) Medtronic announced today the launch of their Beacon Heart Failure Management Service in the US. It combines their implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) or cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices with post-acute patient monitoring from Medtronic Care Management Services (MCMS). The patients are checked both through their recorded cardiac device diagnostics and what they called ‘branching logic’ questions which collect daily qualitative, biometric and symptom information, plus provide patient education. Care managers then review the data along what they term ‘established clinical pathways’ check for growing risk factors and alert providers if needed.
What is interesting is that the in-home delivery and collection platform or hub is not specified. Medtronic happens to own one of the telehealth pioneers, a company which used to be called Cardiocom–which is now part of Medtronic Care Management Services in their Cardiac and Vascular Group (CVG).
No launch clients/partners are mentioned, save a quote from a cardiologist at The Stern Cardiovascular Foundation in the Memphis TN area. Release, FierceMedicalDevices
In other Medtronic news, earlier this week they announced the acquisition of cardiac device company HeartWare for $1.1 billion. HeartWare has developed small implantable pericardial pumps for use in congestive heart failure. Medtronic plans to plug (so to speak) HeartWare into their Cardiac Rhythm and Heart Failure division by the end of October. However, HeartWare has been tagged with the adjective ‘troubled’. Beset with recalls in the past few years for their devices in the US, their smallest pump was withdrawn from CE Mark trial last year, and their acquisition of Israeli cardiac implant company Valtech for over $900 million was scuttled by activist shareholders–who are presumably more content with the money on the table from Medtronic. FierceMedicalDevices
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