CATHETER SUPPORT GETS MEDICARE REIMBURSEMENT APPROVAL

A North Carolina company established to provide medical products for patients receiving treatment for chronic illnesses, has received approval for Medicare reimbursement for its central venous catheter support, the CathSling.

The developer, For Patients, said the patent-pending, FDA-regulated, non-adhesive medical device was invented by its founder Carol Walborn while she was a cancer patient undergoing chemotheraphy treatment.

The CathSling is a simple, disposable fabric necklace that supports the external access tubing of certain central venous catheters (CVC), access needles for the portacath CVC during infusions and the IV lines attached to a Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC).

The patient, chronically ill for months or years, is implanted with a CVC to allow ongoing chemotherapy and blood transfusions without the need for multiple daily needle sticks. The CathSling allows the patient to support their IV lines and the catheter lumens (external tubes to which IV lines are attached) while asleep, while walking or sitting, while in the shower, and during any other activity as permitted by their physician.