ABC Plus, Sleep Coaches spot revenue opportunities

LOS ANGELES - ABC Plus Pharmacy and Sleep Coaches have partnered with Team@Work to help HME providers maximize revenue by improving patient outcomes for neb-med and CPAP patients.

“Our industry loves to talk about patient follow-up, and disease and outcomes management,” said Marcus Kruk, director of sales for ABC Plus Pharmacy. “The high-dollar patients fall into that category because they can support it; but when it comes to these patients, that's not the reality because of the low reimbursement and we make it a reality.”

ABC Plus offers mail-order respiratory medication and supplies, including nebulizers, masks and compressors; Sleep Coaches is a CPAP compliance and resupply outreach platform. Both companies conduct live, monthly follow-up calls to determine whether patients are non-compliant, at risk or need additional equipment and services.

If so, an assessment is generated and passed on to the provider and, ultimately, the physician, allowing the provider to support the patient throughout their life.

“Instead of that patient going back into the physician's office six months later and winding up with another provider, that patient—through our follow-up—will continue to stay with that originating provider, which brings more continuity of care, as well,” said Kruk.

To help spread the word, both ABC Plus and Sleep Coaches are cross-promoting their services to their customer bases and developing strategic relationships with the help of Team@Work.

“By bringing these two services together, ultimately, we're increasing services to the patient,” said Mark Boardman, president of Sleep Coaches. “That's the benefit to the HME: We're helping them grow their business.”

There's also the opportunity to add product categories in the future, Boardman says.

“We're starting to take a look at what other supplies or needs patients are potentially getting serviced for, that their HME could be providing them,” he said. “Incontinence and catheters—those types of things are a natural path for us to go down.”