An orthopedic consulting firm based in Washington, D.C., is enhancing its cache of market reports and analyses by partnering with a company that has built the nation’s largest, HIPPA-compliant database of patient records.

The alliance between Musculoskeletal Clinical Regulatory Advisors LLC (MCRA) and PearlDiver Technologies Inc. of Fort Wayne, Ind., will allow both companies to provide customers with claims-based analyses and reports using common coding by U.S. hospitals and doctors. The analyses range from basic reporting of specific orthopedic procedures or treatments to in-depth examinations of healthcare costs, treatment indices, market intelligence and trends.

“Executive leaders today demand up-to-date, comprehensive information within a multitude of disciplines to make decisions,” David Lown, MCRA’s general manager, said in a news release announcing the partnership. “This strategic alliance is designed to provide executives comprehensive data with expert analysis by leaders in the industry.”

MCRA has used PearlDiver’s enormous database (nearly 500 million patient records covering about 40 million patients) to make four reports immediately available. The reports, which can be customized to meet customers’ individual needs, include:

• Basic Report—A historical accounting of specific medical diagnoses or procedure codes, this report features basic reimbursement information. It is ideal for executive, sales, marketing and product development personnel, as well as regulators, distributors, hospital staff and procurement staff.

• Reimbursement Utilization Report—Combines the basic report with coding, utilization and analysis, as well as historical trends. Understanding the historical utilization of healthcare resources can help company executives to better manage their business needs and develop plans based upon data rather than anecdotal information.

• Reimbursement Utilization & Market Intelligence Report—In addition to data reporting and detailed analyses, this report reviews relevant clinical literature and longitudinal patient mapping. It also identifies market opportunities and provides industry estimates.

• Comprehensive Market & Reimbursement Valuation Analysis—This report combines information from the other three reports and includes competitive profiles, market revenue and growth estimates, market pricing considerations and regulatory, clinical, reimbursement and intellectual property considerations.

“Future healthcare choices, technology development and investments will be based upon data and demonstrated clinical effectiveness by combining empirical data derived from public and private insurance payor databases with published clinical evidence and market expertise,” said Charles Schneider, MCRA’s vice president of reimbursement.

“MCRA and PearlDiver are in the best position to address recurring questions received by insurance carrier representatives, regulators, employer coalitions and technology innovators. As a result, this strategic alliance will further distinguish the two firms and their ability to provide meaningful counsel to our customers,” he concluded.

Sandvik Invests in Future With Center of Excellence

Sandvik is developing a European Center of Excellence for finish processing and supply management activities for orthopedic implants and instruments, a move executives claim will enable the company to meet future market demand.

The Sandvik European Center of Excellence (SECoE), according to a news release, will enable the Swedish firm to “strengthen its position as a strategic partner to medical technology companies” and help customers improve their competitiveness. Construction of the new facility is under way; executives said the building will be completed by the end of the year.

The new facility will be located in South Yorkshire, England—about 6 miles from Sandvik’s casting operation. The building will house machining and finishing operations from the company’s two existing facilities in Sheffield, a historically industrial city of 530,300 people that now claims to be Europe’s greenest metropolis. Establishment of the SECoE will allow Sandvik to centralize the manufacturing and finishing of its orthopedic implants and instruments.

“Our materials knowledge combined with our known cutting-edge production expertise places us in a strong position from a technology perspective,” said Tord Lendau, Sandvik MedTech president. “The new state-of-the-art SECoE will bring our knowledge and expertise together in one location and will provide a platform for future growth. We will be able to give customers the flexibility to meet increasing market demand without significant investment on their part.”

Besides meeting market demand, Sandik executives expect the SECoE to enhance customers’ speed to market and strengthen the company’s role as a strategic partner to medical technology firms.

“In the current economic environment, all companies need to be certain they are working with strong suppliers. Failure in the supply chain could be critical,” Lendau noted. “The development of the SECoE shows we truly are a long-term partner medical device companies can rely on.”

Sandvik executives are hoping the SECoE will strengthen the company’s financial future as well. Consolidating the firm’s two Sheffield facilities most likely will result in lower operational costs for the Sandviken, Sweden-based machinery and tool maker. The savings could help Sandvik offset some of the losses it sustained due to weak demand in the last year for metal-working tools, mining equipment and specialty steels. The drop in demand has forced Sandvik to slash costs and lay off thousands of workers. Last fall, the company announced plans to furlough 1,500 employees worldwide and close a surface drill rig plant in Perth, Australia. Production from that rig, executives said, would be relocated to facilities in Brisbane, Australia, and Santiago, Chile.

In addition to the layoffs, Sandvik reduced fourth-quarter (2008) production using flexible working hours in Sweden and elsewhere. But it still wasn’t enough. So layoffs continued in the first quarter of 2009, with more than 500 people in Sweden given pink slips. “In the current market situation, we must adjust our costs and our workforce levels,” Anders Thelin, Sandvik Tooling president, said in March when the layoffs were announced.

While the company has noticed an increase in inquiries from customers in the mining sector, executives said few of those inquiries have led to new orders. Sandvik’s chief executive described demand over the summer as “flat at a very low level,” but noted that it was not as bad as he had first thought. “That doesn’t mean things were good, but they were not quite as serious as we had planned for,” Lars Pettersson said in early September.

In July, Sandvik posted a pretax loss of 2.44 billion Swedish crowns ($339 million) for the second quarter and said it expected no recovery in demand as order bookings tumbled across all its key markets.

Financial analysts claim the company cannot return to profitability at current demand levels during the third quarter, and Pettersson said it was too soon to determine whether Sandvik could turn profit in the final quarter of the year.

SIDEBAR

Medtronic Unveils New Spine Device

Launched in August in the United States, the T2 Sceptor Distractible End Cleats System is used in the upper (thoracic) and lower (lumbar) part of the spine to replace collapsed, damaged or unstable vertebrae due to a fracture or a tumor, according to the company.

The device is used in conjunction with Pyramesh C Surgical Titanium Mesh to provide increased

Medtronic’s new T2 Sceptor Distractible End Cleats System replaces vertebrae due to a fracture or tumor. Photo courtesy of Medtronic.

surface area and end plate contact to help reduce the risk of the vertebrae becoming dislodged after surgery. Touted in a Medtronic news release as the first of its kind, the T2 Sceptor System features multiple end cap angles and an array of sizes to accommodate patients’ diverse anatomies.

To maximize the T2 Sceptor System’s efficacy, Medtronic released a new round mesh cutter that gives surgeons a smoother and more consistent mesh cut than traditional mesh trimmers.

“The T2 Sceptor System and Mesh Cutter eliminate many of the frustrating aspects around sizing and cutting the titanium mesh, but more importantly, provides surgeons flexibility of an infinitely customizable titanium mesh solution with the benefits of an expandable cage platform,” said Dean G. Karahalios, M.D., neurosurgeon at the Chicago Institute of Neurosurgery and Neuroresearch in Chicago, Ill., and designer of the T2 Sceptor System.

Development of the T2 Sceptor System was spearheaded by Medtronic’s Spinal and Biologics business, based in Memphis, Tenn. The unit provides customers products that treat various disorders of the cranium and spine.