Apria Chief Stays Course, Taps Familiar Face for COO
Edwards Lifesciences Gets Federal Approval for Heart Valve Repair System
HEALTHCARE
by Vita Reed
In February, Larry Higby, the newly ascended chief executive of Lake Forest-based Apria Healthcare Group Inc., promised to keep the company on the same track that had rescued Apria from its late 1990s swoon.
That course, according to Higby, included a combination of internal growth, acquisitions and cutting costs.
If first-quarter re-sults are any indicator, it’s a good thing Higby isn’t looking to revamp the strategy: Apria’s net income grew 14.7% to $40.9 million in the March quarter, compared to a year ago, with revenue jumping 11% to $301.3 million.
That makes more than three years of profitability for the healthcare services provider.
“There are no magic bullets,” Higby said. “There was a change at the head of the company, but there wasn’t in our philosophy or approach. It wasn’t (former chief executive Philip) Carter’s strategy,it was Carter’s and mine.”
Financial reporting isn’t the only news out of Apria these days.
The company also brought back a familiar face, Lawrence Mastrovich, to fill Higby’s old chief operating officer position. Mastrovich, a former Apria executive vice president of business operations and sales, returns to the healthcare company after serving as president and chief operating officer of Coraopolis, Pa.-based TechRx Inc.
Higby recalled Mastrovich’s role in developing Apria’s reimbursement processes, which are considered tops in the industry, according to analysts.
In fact, Apria’s net days sales outstanding, a measurement of how fast receivables are collected, averaged 52 days at the end of the March quarter.
That’s a pretty good number compared to the industry norm of 72 to 74 days, according to Higby.
“His biggest contribution was that he built our reimbursement system and process,he was the architect of the system,” Higby said.
He also said that Mastrovich’s time at TechRx was useful because he learned what it takes to be a COO.
As for how Mastrovich came back to Apria, Higby said things got rolling after they met up, began talking and had dinner.
“We didn’t use a headhunter,” Higby said, mentioning that Mastrovich was picked from a slate of four “excellent-quality” candidates, two internal and two external.
Edwards’ Valve OK’d
Irvine-based Edwards Lifesciences Corp. received Food and Drug Administration clearance to market the Edwards MC3 Tricuspid Annuloplasty system.
The system features a three-dimensional ring designed specifically for surgical repair of the heart’s tricuspid valve by allowing a cardiovascular surgeon to remodel the valve annulus.
When tricuspid valves become diseased or start malfunctioning, blood flow becomes insufficient.
Other symptoms include shortness of breath, chest or heart pain, weakness, dizziness, fainting or “heart flutters.”
The system joins other Edwards heart valve therapy products, such as its Carpentier-Edwards pericardial replacement tissue valves.
Edwards has committed increased funds to research and development activities.
Bits and Pieces:
TriZetto Group Inc., Newport Beach, signed a five-year software deal with Minneapolis-based UnitedHealth Group Inc. UnitedHealth’s Specialized Care Services division will receive TriZetto’s Facets administrative software, its HealthWeb Internet platform and HIPAA Gateway, a new electronic transactions software package … Laguna Hills-based Cogent Healthcare Inc. won a deal with Blue Cross and Blue Shield/Health Options Inc. of Florida. Cogent will provide hospitalists, which are physicians who take care of patients within hospital settings, to Blues/Health Options members at three Jacksonville-area hospitals … Orange-based Children’s Hospital of Orange County, presented information on research projects being conducted at the hospital last week. Highlights included interviews with hospital scientists, lab tours and a presentation on future applications of genetics and childhood diseases … Premier Laser Systems Inc., which was based in Irvine, is auctioning off assets, such as intellectual property, FDA clearances, lasers, parts and delivery devices, as part of its bankruptcy process. The bid deadline is Friday. Premier Laser, which received regulatory hard-tissue laser approval for use on teeth back in 1997, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in March 2000. Information: (714) 508-9211 Larry Zarin, vice president of brand and corporate development for St. Louis-based Express Scripts Inc., will discuss “Advanced Strategies for Managing the Pharmaceutical Landscape” at the Orange County Employee Benefits Council meeting, Thursday 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 a.m., at the Irvine Marriott. Info: (714) 973-8605.
