The MED Group Signs Preferred Supplier Agreement for Masimo SET(R) Pulse Oximetry Solutions

September 24, 2009
Home Medical Equipment GPO Expands Access to Masimo SET Pulse Oximeters for Home Care Providers

IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Masimo (Nasdaq: MASI), the inventor of Pulse CO-Oximetry(TM) and Measure-Through Motion and Low-Perfusion pulse oximetry, and The MED Group, a Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) for home care providers, jointly announce a preferred supplier agreement that will give MED Group members preferred contract pricing on Masimo SET Pulse Oximeters and sensors. Masimo's solutions are proven to help caregivers improve patient safety, reduce costs, and increase efficiencies.

The 'gold standard' in pulse oximetry, Masimo SET is clinically-proven in more than 100 independent and objective studies to deliver the most accurate and reliable SpO2 and pulse rate measurements, even under the most challenging clinical conditions of patient motion and low peripheral perfusion In fact, research shows that the unmatched sensitivity and specificity of Masimo SET is not only more accurate in detecting true desaturation events--including brief dips in oxygen saturation as well as larger ones, but it can also "significantly reduce workload and improve reliability of desaturation detection" over other pulse oximeters.(1)

Wayne Grau, Vice President Supplier Relations, The MED Group, stated, "Ensuring the continued success of our members is a top priority. Two of the best ways we accomplish this include providing access and preferred pricing on the high-quality products that help them take better care of their patients and reducing unnecessary costs in the home care environment. Masimo SET pulse oximetry products do both, by enabling home care clinicians to more accurately and reliably monitor their patients without having to waste time and resources sorting through false alarms."

Masimo SET products immediately available to MED Group members include the new Masimo Rad-8 pulse oximeter and the full compliment of Masimo SET adhesive and reusable sensors. The new Rad-8 offers a host of easy-to-use special features that help caregivers more effectively and efficiently capture, analyze, and report vital oxygen saturation, pulse rate, and perfusion index information for improved patient care in the home environment.

Masimo Founder and CEO, Joe E. Kiani, stated, "Masimo has proudly served the needs of the home care market since the introduction of Masimo SET more than 10 years ago and we look forward to expanding our service in this market as a preferred pulse oximetry supplier to MED Group members. Our partnership with The MED Group will make Masimo SET pulse oximetry products available to their entire network of market-leading home medical equipment customers and home care providers to help advance the care and improve the safety of patients at home."

(1) Robert Brouillette, MD, Jacinthe Lavergne, RRT, Andra Leimanis, BSc, Gillian Nixon, MB ChB, FRACP, Sylvia Ladan, RRT, Christine McGregor, RRT. "Differences in Pulse Oximetry Technology can Affect Detection of Sleep-Disordered Breathing in Children." Anesth Analg 2002; 94: S47-S53.

About The MED Group

The MED Group is a Group Purchasing, Business Solutions and Referral Management Network that serves its Home Care Customers (Members, Suppliers and Referral Sources) through a unique model that delivers value for each. MED Members are market-leading Home Medical Equipment (HME) Providers that consistently deliver quality patient care through clinical and business based best practices. Through MED smart purchasing economic models, members make cost effective purchasing choices for products available through MED Preferred Supplier agreements. MED also helps Members improve efficiencies in education and training, reimbursement, accreditation, certification, technology and other operational areas - to help maintain their status as market leaders. MED's Network includes 365+ market leading HME providers that cover 1000+ locations. MED's national headquarters are located in Texas. For more information about MED, visit: http://new.medgroup.com/.

About Masimo

Masimo (Nasdaq: MASI) develops innovative monitoring technologies that significantly improve patient care--helping solve "unsolvable" problems. In 1995, the company debuted Measure-Through Motion and Low-Perfusion pulse oximetry, known as Masimo SET(R), which virtually eliminated false alarms and increased pulse oximetry's ability to detect life-threatening events. More than 100 independent and objective studies demonstrate Masimo SET provides the most reliable SpO2 and pulse rate measurements even under the most challenging clinical conditions, including patient motion and low peripheral perfusion. In 2005, Masimo introduced Masimo Rainbow SET(R) Pulse CO-Oximetry(TM), a breakthrough noninvasive blood constituent monitoring platform that can measure many blood constituents that previously required invasive procedures. Masimo Rainbow SET continuously and noninvasively measures total hemoglobin (SpHb(TM)), oxygen content (SpOC(TM)), carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO(R)), methemoglobin (SpMet(R)), and PVI(TM), in addition to oxyhemoglobin (SpO2), pulse rate (PR), and perfusion index (PI), allowing early detection and treatment of potentially life-threatening conditions. Founded in 1989, Masimo has the mission of "Improving Patient Outcomes and Reducing Cost of Care by Taking Noninvasive Monitoring to New Sites and Applications." Additional information about Masimo and its products may be found at www.masimo.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, in connection with the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations about future events affecting us and are subject to risks and uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control and could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in our forward-looking statements as a result of various risk factors, including, but not limited to: risks related to our assumptions regarding the repeatability of clinical results, risks related to our assumptions that a preferred supplier agreement with MED Group will expand market access to Masimo SET pulse oximeters, risks related to our belief that Masimo SET will deliver sufficient sensitivity and specificity to deliver the most accurate and reliable measurements under all conditions of patient motion and low peripheral perfusion, and risks related to our assumption that entering into a multi-year supplier agreement with MED Group will serve to broaden the use of Masimo SET pulse oximetry or will serve to provide substantially increased revenues for the company, as well as other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of our most recent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), which may be obtained for free at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, we do not know whether our expectations will prove correct. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of today's date. We do not undertake any obligation to update, amend or clarify these forward-looking statements or the "Risk Factors" contained in our most recent reports filed with the SEC, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under the applicable securities laws.

    Media Contacts:
    Dana BanksMasimo Corporation
    +1 (949) 297-7348

Masimo, SET, Signal Extraction Technology, Improving Outcomes and Reducing Cost of Care by Taking Noninvasive Monitoring to New Sites and Applications, Rainbow, SpHb, SpOC, SpCO, SpMet, PVI, Radical-7, Rad-87, Rad-57,Rad-9, Rad-8, Rad-5,Pulse CO-Oximetry and Pulse CO-Oximeter are trademarks or registered trademarks of Masimo Corporation.

SOURCE Masimo

Dana Banks of Masimo Corporation, +1-949-297-7348