1. 3M
1.1. 3M launches new brand campaign that demonstrates how innovation and action improves lives
3M launched improving lives—an integrated nationwide 3M Company brand campaign across multiple communication channels. Improving Lives tells the stories of science and innovation through the lens of its inventors to emphasise how and why 3M scientists are passionate to create solutions that are meaningful and make people's lives better.
Improving Lives was unveiled on broadcast TV with the first in a series of high‐profile advertisements airing to millions of people during the first World Series game on FOX. 3M will also reach a broad audience via targeted digital and social media advertising. Viewers can see all the campaign ads at 3M.com/improvinglives.
The campaign underscores 3M's commitment to advance and expand its purpose‐driven strategy to tackle problems, big and small, in pursuit of its vision to improve every life.
“We are letting the world know who we are and why we do what we do every day,” said Eric Quint, 3M vice president, chief brand and design officer. “3M employees are motivated to find solutions that connect with customers and make a meaningful, positive impact in the world around us. In our new brand campaign, we are excited to invite everyone to see the people behind the science, and how we are making a difference. Sharing real life stories of our scientists represents the heritage of 3M and leverages the strength of the brand across each of our businesses to inspire people.”
A total of 87% of the world believe that we need science to solve the world's greatest challenges. The Improving Lives campaign showcases the many ways that 3M scientists collaborate to solve the toughest problems—so that workers can breathe easier; cars and homes are made smarter, more efficient, and safer; and a child can experience the power of a handwritten Post‐it note on her lunchbox.
“With creativity and a shared purpose, no problem is unsolvable,” said Michael Stroik, director for 3Mgives, which aims to improve lives through social investment and engagement. “3M employees around the globe use their skills, know‐how and energy to strengthen the communities where we live and work every day. We build sustainable capacity through social investments and the avid volunteerism of 3Mers worldwide.”
The campaign builds on the 3M Science. Applied to Life. brand platform launched in 2015. The Improving Lives campaign was launched initially in the United States and will extend globally.
For more information, visit www.3m.com or 3Mgives, follow @3 M on Twitter, or join the conversation with #improvinglives.
2. MÖLNLYCKE HEALTH CARE
2.1. Mölnlycke acquires German wound care company SastoMed GmbH
The world‐leading medical solutions company, Mölnlycke, has acquired German wound care products company, SastoMed GmbH. The deal adds new, award‐winning products to Mölnlycke's offer—enabling it to further help healthcare professionals and patients by accelerating the wound healing process and treating chronic wounds.
SastoMed GmbH joins the Mölnlycke family, bringing two innovative and complementary products to Mölnlycke's wound care portfolio:
Granulox: a haemoglobin‐based topical oxygen therapy spray that is sprayed on wounds for faster wound healing
Granudacyn: a hypochlorous wound irrigation solution for cleaning, moistening, and rinsing of acute, chronic, and contaminated wounds, and for first‐ and second‐degree burns
The addition of the new products will enable Mölnlycke to lead the way in both active and passive wound healing.
“Today, chronic wounds, such as foot ulcers, have a higher mortality rate than both breast cancer and prostate cancer and the real burden of ulcers is not yet fully known or understood. Mölnlycke will now be able to offer healthcare professionals—and patients—solutions to support both active and passive healing. We can therefore offer a holistic approach to wound treatment through our portfolio”, says Mölnlycke CEO, Richard Twomey.
2.2. Award‐winning products
With the acquisition of SastoMed GmbH, Mölnlycke adds another award‐winning product to its wound care offer. Granulox won the 2018 Innovation Award at EWMA (European Wound Management Association) Congress in Krakow, thanks to its ability to advance the healing process. Studies report that Granulox can reduce total costs of initial diabetic foot ulcers treatment by around 60% a year.
2.3. Complementary innovation and sales capabilities
Over the past few years, Mölnlycke has invested in organic R&D to meet customer needs and bring innovative products to the market. The acquisition complements this investment with new technology and capabilities, further accelerating Mölnlycke's potential for product innovation.
Furthermore, both Granulox and Granudacyn fit into Mölnlycke's strategy to be a category leader within the wound care space.
2.4. Share the desire to help patients
Although Granulox is currently available in more than 24 countries, SastoMed's main customer base is in Germany, South East Asia, and Central and Latin America. Mölnlycke will expand the geographical reach of Granulox and Granudacyn through its worldwide distribution network and sales organisation. With customers and a salesforce in South East Asia and Central and Latin America, the acquisition of SastoMed also enables Mölnlycke to expand its presence in key growth markets.
The founder of SastoMed, Michael Sander, comments: “We share Mölnlycke's desire to advance healthcare around the world. Too often, patients experience slow wound healing since no appropriate therapy is available to overcome the lack of oxygen in the wound tissue. Now we feel it's the right time to pass the baton to the leading company in advanced wound care, in order to make our unique products available to as many patients as possible.”
3. SWIFT MEDICAL
3.1. KanTime and Swift Partnership will drive growth for home health agencies
KanTime, the fastest growing home healthcare EMR software provider, is partnering with Swift Medical, the industry leader in digital wound care solutions, to deliver advanced wound care technology via direct integration with KanTime's Home Healthcare EMR.
“Home health clinicians manage wounds every single day, and more than a third of patients living at home have at least one wound. Swift Skin and Wound is the leading digital wound care solution, improving care for 150 000 patients every day across 1700 healthcare facilities throughout the United States. Our partnership with KanTime will give home health agencies confidence in all aspects of wound care—from measurement and documentation to reporting and compliance. This valuable partnership comes as home health agencies prepare for the rollout of the new Patient‐Driven Groupings Model (PDGM), and Swift Medical is excited to equip agencies with the best wound care management technology to improve outcomes for patients in the home,” said Carlo Perez, CEO of Swift Medical.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will enact PDGM on January 1, 2020. PDGM brings about a new care classification model that groups patients based on clinical characteristics and other information to create more meaningful payment categories.
“With the right technology in place, PDGM creates a significant opportunity for home health agencies to be compensated for providing high‐quality wound care. The partnership between Swift Medical and KanTime couldn't come at a more timely moment. Together we are pleased to expand our services to more customers across the United States. KanTime has a demonstrated history of providing first‐class software and services that help agencies decrease costs, improve outcomes and ultimately enhance the patient experience,” said Phil Wigmore, Vice President of Swift Medical.
“Wound care is a complex, inter‐professional discipline that requires the right technology and approach. For over 11 years, KanTime has provided functional, scalable and flexible solutions to home health, home care and hospice agencies across the US and partnering with Swift Medical only strengthens this vision for 2020. Swift provides unique and patented technology that provides value to every health care provider involved in wound care. It can be used offline, provides clinically validated and consistent measurements and delivers real‐time data to inform home health agencies on essential wound care metrics and trending. Our home health clients—and, more importantly, their patients—will benefit immensely from this tool. We are thrilled to bring it to them,” said Greg Lotz, Director of Marketing and Sales Technology at KanTime.
Swift Skin and Wound provides value to home health agencies through accurate and validated wound measurements and increased compliance with streamlined wound care workflows that enable home health providers to grow their wound care capacity.
“Bringing Swift Medical's technology alongside our industry‐best EMR will bring a competitive advantage to KanTime home health agencies across the US. We are always looking to partner with forward‐thinking leaders like Swift and are excited about providing transformative technology and solutions to our clients. Working with Swift Medical is a win for KanTime and our clients,” said Sundar Kannan, CEO of KanTime.
To learn more about how your agency can benefit from the partnership between KanTime and Swift Medical, contact sales@kanrad.com or sales@swiftmedical.com.
3.2. About KanTime
KanTime Healthcare Software is the fastest growing post‐acute software provider in the nation. KanTime provides the cloud‐based enterprise software to home health, hospice, paediatric, private duty, and consumer‐directed services agencies. KanTime helps agencies improve clinical compliance, increase operations efficiency, and achieve financial success. KanTime works seamlessly on any point of care device, be it iOS, Android, or Windows‐based, both online and offline. Additionally, KanTime offers robust business intelligence tools that allow upper level management to drill down into various clinical, financial, and operational KPIs and take action. For more information, visit https://www.kantime.com or contact sales@kanrad.com for a demo.
3.3. About Swift
Swift is the world leader in digital wound care management, delivering advanced wound care visualisation and touchless measurement through its smartphone‐ready Swift Skin and Wound software. Swift streamlines clinical and administrative wound care management workflows from image capture and automatic risk scoring to assessment scheduling and claims submission. Today, Skin and Wound is in use by more than 1700 healthcare organisations to monitor over 150 000 patients and streamline over $1 billion in reimbursements. To learn how Swift has digitised and transformed wound care, visit https://swiftmedical.com.
News and views. Int Wound J. 2019;16:1587–1589. 10.1111/iwj.13275