Archive: November 2019
Mom and baby market gains exposure
November 27, 2019Tracy Orzel
ATLANTA-While women's health products have always been a Medtrade mainstay, the emerging mom-and-baby market has received a lot more attention in recent years.In 2017, the Owlet Smart Sock 2, a device that tracks babies' heart rates and oxygen levels, won the Provider's Choice Gold Award; at this year's Medtrade Spring, a battery powered heating blanket took bronze.“Those two products, and more, have shown that HME providers can creatively tap into the mom and baby market,” said Kevin...
Game-changing technology
November 27, 2019Liz Beaulieu, Editor
INDIANAPOLIS - Professional development isn't the only tool that employees need to succeed, says Rehab Medical President Kevin Gearheart.They also need the right technology.That's why Rehab Medical in October launched an updated version of its mobile customer relationship management (CRM) software solution.“This has been a game changer for us,” Gearheart said.The CRM solution allows Rehab Medical's sales force to speed up the process of providing complex power wheelchairs and improve...
McKesson puts the partnership in payer relations
November 27, 2019Tracy Orzel
ROCK HILL, S.C. - McKesson recently hosted its fifth provider roundtable in Rock Hill, S.C., to discuss the importance of payer relations on the HME industry's future. “HME is a small percentage of what payers pay for, but it saves a lot of money in other areas of health care, because it's less expensive to have a patient home than in an acute care or long-term care facility,” said Ashley Latva, account manager, HME, North Carolina, McKesson. “So we want payers to see the value...
Bernie Lambrese wants to know: Do you 'pressure test assumptions?'
November 27, 2019Liz Beaulieu, Editor
BRISTOL, R.I. - Bernie Lambrese, who has started, built and sold five homecare businesses in his 30-year career, is rebuilding his consulting business. Lambrese started Healthcare Strategies 20 years ago with his wife, Kelly Lambrese, and business partner Joe Haley, but he's making the consulting company his top priority again after selling Infusion Resource, a home infusion provider, to Amerita in 2016 and Care Resource, a home health agency, to Encompass Health earlier this year. Here's what Lambrese...
Pride Mobility tests digital tools
November 27, 2019Liz Beaulieu, Editor
EXETER, Pa. - Pride Mobility Products is testing a new digital kiosk with about 50 HME providers as a way to help them educate and sell customers on their products.The kiosk will have information, photos and videos of everything from Pride's VivaLift line of electronic recliners to its Jazzy line of power wheelchairs.“We're moving more in a digital direction,” said Renae Storie, a senior director at Pride.Pride had a digital kiosk on hand at Medtrade in October. It has a steel frame that...
Vendors emphasize need to specialize
November 27, 2019John Andrews
Despite consolidation rippling through the urologicals category, manufacturers see the market continuing to be a positive environment for HME providers. By adhering to solid financial practices, sharpening their knowledge and context of the field and working closely with their supply partners, providers should enjoy success in the market, vendors say.“I look to our providers in amazement as they manage so many different policies, allowables and amounts with insurance payers,” says John...
ResMed's Cerner connection
November 27, 2019Liz Beaulieu, Editor
SAN DIEGO - ResMed last month announced a new agreement with one of the biggest names in health IT: Cerner. As part of the agreement, Cerner has designated ResMed's Brightree Home Health and Hospice platform as its preferred solution for its electronic health record. Perhaps more wide-reaching, Cerner has also agreed to connect other ResMed digital health platforms, including those that support its more than 10 million connectable sleep apnea and respiratory care devices, to its EHR and HealtheIntent...
ATF Medical grows ATP staff
November 27, 2019Liz Beaulieu, Editor
WOODBRIDGE, Va. - With its new senior rehab consultant Melissa Freeman, ATF Medical now has 11 ATPs on staff.Freeman, an ATP and CEAS, brings skills in assistive communication to the company, which provides medical equipment and adaptive house solutions for the workers' compensation market.“I had a lot of clients who received, used and benefited from speech and language devices," she said. "They're utilized a lot more than they used to be as technology becomes more universal. Before, communication...
Q&A: Know thy subcontractor
November 27, 2019Tracy Orzel
ATLANTA - If you're an HME provider looking into outside marketing agencies, do your homework first, says Michael Silverman, an attorney with Florida Healthcare Law Firm. HME News spoke to Silverman, a panelist on the “Compliantly Making Money and Best Practices to Keep It” session at Medtrade, about how to choose a subcontractor and red flags to avoid.HME News: Is there a best practice providers should prioritize?Michael Silverman: In this industry, in this day...
Home Care Connect grows business
November 27, 2019Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WINTER PARK, Fla. - Home Care Connect has added a national account manager to its team, with the workers' compensation market growing seeing a rise in more severe injuries.
Those injuries are more likely to require DME, says Anita Jovic.
“We're not seeing as many slips and falls,” said Jovic, vice president of operations for Home Care Connect. “Instead, they may get their hand caught in a conveyor belt or a faulty piece of equipment falls on them.”
The company,...