I-Flow Announces Managed Care Contracts For ON-Q PainBuster

LAKE FOREST, Calif. -- I-Flow Corporation today announced contracts with 12 managed-care organizations representing HMOs, PPOs, and Workmen's Compensation providers that will begin to routinely reimburse for ON-Q for post-surgical pain relief. With these contracts, ON-Q will be accessible to more than 7 million patients who may undergo surgery in ambulatory surgery centers across the United States.

ON-Q is redefining recovery and helping patients get back to normal after surgery by reducing or eliminating the need for narcotics, today's standard of care for pain relief. ON-Q has outcomes-based labeling to provide significantly better pain relief than narcotics alone and significantly less need for narcotics after surgery. In related news, and consistent with the company's managed care objectives, the first Medicare payment was received based on the recently announced coverage for ON-Q. In this case involving a specific patient undergoing hernia surgery, the decision that ON-Q was medically necessary and therefore payable was made by an administrative law judge. I-Flow used ON-Q's enhanced labeling, the over 44 published and presented clinical studies on ON-Q, and the company's existing insurer relationships through its wholly-owned subsidiary InfuSystem to achieve this success in the managed care arena.

"It is clear that I-Flow's eighteen years of experience working with insurance providers and our investment in clinical research supporting the use of ON-Q have made ON-Q a more attractive option for insurers," said Donald M. Earhart, president and CEO of I-Flow Corporation. "With ON-Q, patients are able to return to normal sooner which means dramatically shorter stays in otherwise expensive hospital beds. Patients also feel better after surgery and are happy to spend their time recovering at home. ON-Q is rapidly gaining acceptance in the market and it is encouraging to see private insurance companies recognizing the importance of offering an option that is redefining post-surgical recovery to their members."

Source: I-Flow Corporation