Archive: October 2010
'Every employee as an owner'
October 31, 2010Liz Beaulieu, Editor
What's consultant Gary Schwantz really into these days?
"I just love this idea of every employee as an owner," said Schwantz, who helped rehab provider Doug Westerdahl implement "Open Book Management" principles at Monroe Wheelchair. "There are a lot of ways to do that and this one is very cool."
Here's what Schwantz had to say about "Open Book Management," a book by John Case that makes the case for owners sharing certain financial indicators with their employees.
On the need for openness in...
Do you know where your sales reps are?
October 31, 2010Mike Moran
DALLAS - HME providers can wave good-bye to the days when sales reps and other field staff padded their mileage reports and felt free to take off the afternoon and go golfing or shopping, say officials at On-Board Communications.
In 2002, On-Board released FleetTraks and tweeked it to create HMEGPS, a fleet management tool for delivery vehicles. Since then, the company has received many requests from providers for a product that allows them to better manage sales reps, clinicians and other staff...
'Everyone cries wolf when it's too late'
October 31, 2010Liz Beaulieu, Editor
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - What's provider Marcia Togami's secret for dealing with reimbursement cuts?
"Everyone cries wolf when it's too late," said Togami, the billing manager for A&R Medical Supply. "We've always just tried to be one year ahead of the game."
Take the 36-month cap on Medicare reimbursement for oxygen. Well before the cap went into effect Jan. 1, 2009, A&R Medical began chipping away at the number of tanks it delivers each month as a way to save money. First, it encouraged patients to...
Fred Jackson makes a living pumping gas
October 31, 2010Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
SALIDA, Colo. - Provider Fred Jackson has been spending more time these days hanging around local bars.
Providing gases to help them power their taps is an effort to increase his industrial gas business and diversify away from Medicare, he said.
"We are just walking in and asking for their business," said Jackson, president of Salida Medical. "We've been selling to a lot of the bars and we plan on expanding to restaurants for their beverage services."
Industrial gases are nothing new for the 30-year-old...
Cardiosom: Fuel oxygen biz with physician trust
October 31, 2010Jennifer Keirn
Tim Miller built a career as the physician's go-to guy, collaborating with them in businesses ranging from mobile cardiac catheterization labs to imaging centers. So when a group of cardiologists approached him in 2004 about getting into the sleep lab business, Miller put his healthcare management expertise to work in a new venture, MD Sleep, under parent company Dormir, based in Carmel, Ind.
But that's not the end of Miller's story. Before long, his physician contacts had another request--give...
Health Management Services: Excel at CPAP supply replenishment
October 31, 2010Jennifer Keirn
A few years back, Houston-based Health Management Services (HMS) was strong and growing in its core sleep business, but it was singing a song familiar to many other CPAP providers.
"Six years ago we weren't doing a strong job of following up on CPAP reorders," says Jason Holzman, general manager of the 21-year-old provider. "Reorders were probably 5% (of sales)."
Holzman was charged with changing that and he created a coordinated supply replenishment program that now accounts for 30% of HMS's...
Briefs: Software vendor opens online store
October 31, 2010HME News Staff
CHESTNUT RIDGE, N.Y. - Business software vendor MedForce Technologies has launched an online store (www.medforcetech.com/store) where customers can buy apps and add-ons to help them improve workflow and become more efficient, the company announced in September. The store features auto-filing templates, forms, additional user licenses and consulting services in various categories. The store features apps and add-ons for all MedForce solutions products, including standard and online versions of MedForce...
Sleeper hit: SleepQuest finds success at home
October 31, 2010Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
SAN CARLOS, Calif. - While home sleep testing hasn't been quite the boon many believed that it would be, provider Robert Koenigsberg says his sales are up 30% this year.
"You hear in certain circles that (home testing) hasn't caught on," said Koenigsberg, president and CEO of SleepQuest. "But if you look at companies like us, we are doing quite well because there is an audience of insurers and physicians (who believe in it) and there is a tremendous unmet need."
To that end, the 15-year-old company...
So long, Mr. Weeks
October 31, 2010Mike Moran
Long-time industry consultant Wallace Weeks will call it quits at the end of this year and devote himself full time to his commercial photography business. Weeks entered the HME industry as a consultant in 1993 after a stint in commercial banking and never looked back, becoming a popular speaker and guru of activities based costing (ABC). HME News recently asked him a few parting questions.
HME News: Are you really leaving the industry for good? It's not going to be the same without you.
Wallace...
Incontinence market: Full of challenges
October 31, 2010John Andrews
Making the incontinence supply business work requires a lot of diligence, savvy and fortitude on the provider's part. There are plenty of strong headwinds to battle: low Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement and, therefore, tight margins; and competition from big-box retailers.
To succeed in the incontinence market, providers need to be multi-dimensional in their approach, carrying a diverse payer, product and patient mix; maintaining strong relationships with referral sources; and keeping overhead...