Efficiency innovations becoming added-value for oxygen suppliers
Oxygen suppliers have been continuously hostile to innovation that could make delivery more efficient, HBI hears. The pandemic has renewed attention on supply, pricing and patient outcomes leading to some to reassess the approach. HBI speaks to one medical device company that claims to save up to 80% of oxygen for an inpatient.
“Some large gas suppliers absolutely don’t want any technology that conserves oxygen because they are still paid by volume of oxygen delivered. The last thing they want is something that’s going to reduce the volumes,” says a source who used to work in the industry.
There has been very little pricing pressure on medical gas supply until very recently, when the shortfall in funding for hospitals and margins of 25-30% in the medical gas supply has led many to consider whether they’re being ripped off.
One technology that does boost efficiency is oxygen conservators, which only blow oxygen outwards when the patient is breathing in. It has existed for at least two decades in the homecare sector, where cylinders can run dry within hours but is only just starting to be adapted to an inpatient setting.
Oxypoint, a medical device maker based in Antwerp, is one company trying to put oxygen conservators into hospitals. Its devices are used in low- and medium- care wards, so around 30-50% of patients, and can save up to 80% of oxygen per patient.
Founder Philip Hendrickx insists this can’t be extrapolated across the hospital because people need different volumes of oxygen but clinical studies show it saved 75% on a cardiology ward and 40% on a pulmonary ward. It’s been on the market for 4-5 years and sold to 30 hospitals across eight countries.
“With a traditional flowmeter, patients are not as loyal to oxygen therapy as they could be. Cold, pure oxygen tends to irritate so many tend to remove the nasal cannula, it’s a huge waste. We don’t have any hard evidence on how we boost compliance but we can say from empirical that half of patients prefer the comfort mode.”
So how to convince the gas giants? Oxypoint CEO Wout Van Roost points to the ongoing competitiveness and price pressure, adding that the volumes of oxygen used in low-card wards is a lot smaller compared to critical wards and is, therefore, less of an impact on the gas supplier’s business.
“The oxygen is really a commodity,” he says. “Compare innovation to a smart thermostat in a household. Why would an energy company give its customers a tool to reduce energy consumption? Because it wants to provide extra value. By differentiating themselves and being able to offer added value, they can keep the business of their hospitals.”
The pandemic is also forcing other changes in oxygen delivery including a greater need to automate monitoring of patients. Hospitals across Europe could adapt better to making sure that that oxygen dosage changes as the patient needs do. “If you’re above saturation of 94% then you probably don’t need oxygen,” says our first insider source. “If it’s a drug, which it is, you should be monitoring continuously to prevent bad outcomes.”
The next iteration of Oxypoint’s device, which isn’t yet commercialised, is a monitoring tool that digitalises the measuring of vitals in low care wards and links that information back into the electronic patient record. This is traditionally done by the caregiver watching the patient three times a day. However, Van Roost reckons that less than a quarter of hospitals today have the capabilities to deploy advanced technology properly.
“COVID-19 has raised the need for modern digital tools in low- and medium- care wards enormously. With data you can detect trends and that’s much more powerful than just point measurement. Wouldn’t it have been interesting to have a device that monitors from a safe distance the patient’s breathing. So many times we’ve said ‘God we wish we did this two years ago’.”
We would welcome your thoughts on this story. Email your views to Rachel Lewis or call 0207 183 3779.
