Archive: March 2014
Patients: real victims of audits
March 28, 2014Letter to the Editor
Mr. Watson's letter (“28-month delay will be disasterous for providers,” January 2014) was right on the money, no pun intended. It will be disastrous for providers, but the real loser here is the person who must live his or her life from the seat of a wheelchair. We have a number of clients who have rather complicated power wheelchairs. A number of the chairs were initially paid for, but Medicare has been retrieving money on those paid claims...
Face-to-face rule: Learn ins and outs
March 28, 2014Michael Blakey
A. Your organization is unique and the specific operational protocols established by your organization should be unique also. Despite uniqueness, a commonality exists between all DME suppliers when something new, such as the face-to-face rule, is established, and the most important operational protocol for all stakeholders with the face-to-face rule is education.
CMS refers to operational protocols as those internal processes established by collaboration of DME suppliers and physicians to ensure...
Roscoe Medical, Carex Health Brands merge
March 28, 2014HME News Staff
STRONGSVILLE, Ohio, and NORWELL, Mass. - Roscoe Medical and Carex Health Brands will create a combined company to diversify their product lines and increase their market distribution footprint.
Roscoe and Carex also believe a combined company will allow them to accelerate and streamline product development, and better position them to pursue growth opportunities.
“We are very excited by the opportunities this merger creates, bringing Carex into many new product categories we haven't...
Collections: Try a static pool analysis
March 28, 2014Kurt Lovell
A. It's not as clear as you might think. Like any metric, it's critical that you understand the key inputs that lead to your collection rate. Furthermore, being well informed about your measurement is the first step toward improving your results.A collection rate calculation needs to account for more than just total patient payments divided by total patient pay accounts receivable. Fluctuation in the number of patient encounters, age of existing accounts receivable, changes in payer mix, reimbursement...
in good repair: Bell Apothecary branches out
March 28, 2014Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
EASTON, Pa. - When a local DME repair shop owner sold his business to another company located far away, provider Ron Frantz saw a great opportunity.“People were calling and complaining that they weren't getting their equipment back fast enough,” said Frantz, medical director of the home healthcare department for Bell Apothecary. “I approached him and we opened up a repair shop right in our facility and now he works for me.”The shop does repairs on equipment such as wheelchairs,...
HST: 'Not allowed to preferred in a few years'
March 28, 2014Liz Beaulieu, Editor
Instant Diagnostic Systems (IDS) has made several moves in the past few months to better position itself to take advantage of the growing market for home-sleep testing (HST). One of those moves: The Decatur, Ala.-based in-home diagnostic company brought onboard Christian Kiely, previously at Apria Healthcare. Here's what Kiely, vice president of marketing and sales, had to say about the big changes brewing in sleep.HME News: Why does the company think more and more testing will move to the home?Christian...
Inogen reports double-digit increases
March 28, 2014Liz Beaulieu, Editor
GOLETA, Calif. - The impact of competitive bidding is “pretty much behind us,” Inogen President and CEO Raymond Huggenberger said during the company's first-ever earnings call on March 27.Inogen, which completed an initial public offering in February, reported total revenues of $19.8 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2013, a 43% increase over the same period in 2012. It reported net income of $20.1 million, including a one-time tax asset benefit attributable to common stockholders,...
Provider makes GO of new venture
March 28, 2014Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
GREEN BAY, Wis. - HME Home Medical might not win a price war with medical supply behemoths like Medline and McKesson, but the provider does think it can win a few battles.On March 1, HME Home Medical launched GO HME, a business-to-business program to distribute incontinence and skin care products, and disposable gloves to skilled nursing homes, hospitals and even other HME providers.“Many facilities were asking if we would sell them supplies,” said Eric Hagen, director of business development....
Wheelinit keeps it simple
March 28, 2014Leah Hoenen
FORT WORTH, Texas - Lessons learned had everything to do with the stripped-down, rugged and reliable van that the recently-launched Wheelinit sells to wheelchair users, says Managing Member Micah Mitchell. Here's what he and Business Development Director Bo Dennett had to say about creating the Wheelinit van and how it fits into the mobility van market.
HME News: Wheelinit's parent company rented wheelchair accessible vans for 15 years. How did that experience lead you to build the vans...
Billing technology: Get staff plugged in
March 28, 2014Jennifer Leon
A. Contrary to popular belief, your patients will use online bill pay if you offer it. The key is getting your patients and your staff to believe in the same methodology when it comes to paying bills online. Surprisingly, baby boomers spend more time online than any other age group, according to eMarketer, a research analyst company. The 65-plus demographic has changed the way they pay—now your company needs to adapt that change and offer the right solution. Using online bill pay...