Addition Technology Reports Clinical, Reimbursement and Marketing Pearls

Nov. 6, 2009 - PRLog -- Des Plaines, Illinois – Clinical data presented by Aylin Kilic, M.D., Ankara, Turkey, showed Intacs® corneal implant treatment alone helps improve visual and refractive parameters in keratoconus patients. What’s more, “Intacs combined with cross-linking treatment may have an additive effect in the management of keratoconus patients,” she said.

Dr. Kilic presented her finding to other surgeons who use Intacs and who were attending the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) in October in San Francisco.

Also at the AAO meeting, surgical pearls were presented on the use of AlphaSphere Orbital Implants. Wendy Lee, M.D., from Bascom Palmer in Miami, FL, and Parag Ghandi, M.D., from Duke Eye Center of Winston Salem, NC, are among the handful of surgeons in the world to have implanted the all-new device. Unlike previous implants, the AlphaSphere is suture-ready, meaning the surgeon can place it in the orbit without any pre-surgical preparation, such as wrapping, and suture directly into the anterior surface where biointegration of the muscles occurs. Both surgeons reported having no complications with the implant in their surgeries.

Addition Technology also hosted a gathering of surgeons and insurance coordinators at the AAO meeting to collaborate on new approaches to insurance reimbursement for Intacs implants.  “Although there is no magic bullet, insurance doesn’t have to be a mystery.  With keratoconus, we’ve found medical directors at most carriers to be intelligent and reasonable once they understand the overwhelming evidence and cost-effective value of the Intacs treatment versus performing a later stage corneal transplant,” said Greg Almond, Global Marketing Director for Addition Technology.  

To help surgeons grow their Intacs business, Addition Technology introduced surgeons and their practice-marketing directors to new practice growth initiative focused on optometric networking.  “Our version of the Optometric Networking Program yielded four surgeries and several referrals immediately following our event,” said Bradley Bowman, M.D., of Cornea Associates Of Texas, Dallas, TX.

Addition Technology’s new HD Physician Network provides practices with videos, clinical pearls, insurance tutorials, audiocasts and marketing materials.

“We are enthusiastic about what the future of Addition Technology continues to deliver to patients, practices and corneal science,” said William Flynn, Addition Technology’s CEO.

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Addition Technology, Inc., a privately held eye care company, specializes in novel solutions for sight-threatening eye indications. Intacs® and Intacs SK corneal implants, AlphaSphere™ orbital implants and the AlphaCor™ artificial cornea are patented devices, and the first of their kind, approved by the FDA and granted CE Mark certification in Europe in addressing vision threatening conditions of the cornea. Intacs corneal implants are indicated for keratoconus and myopia. AlphaSphere is the next generation in orbital implant devices, and the AlphaCor artificial cornea is indicated as an alternative for high-risk, repeat graft failures. Both products are distributed worldwide. Visit www.additiontechnology.com for more information.