Addressing gaps in women’s health care

Recent years have seen a marked increase in attention to women's health, signaling a transformative shift in the health care landscape that challenges long-standing norms. 

A crucial aspect of this shift is the recognition that women are not simply "small men," says Nikki Jensen, vice president of Essentially Women, a division of Waterloo, Iowa-based VGM Group. 

Data suggests that the next five to 10 years will bring substantial opportunities for the development of women's health products, reflecting a growing commitment to better understanding and addressing the unique needs of women, moving beyond the one-size-fits-all approach that has dominated health care in the past. 

HME News recently caught up with Jensen to discuss the evolving landscape of women's health care and the untapped market potential within it. 

HME News: Does more attention need to be paid to the needs of women’s health, in general? 

Nikki Jensen: For so many years, all the clinical studies and all drug trials were all done on men. In 1977, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration determined that women shouldn't be involved in clinical drug trials because if they were of childbearing years, it could negatively impact the unborn child. It wasn’t until 1994 that the National Institutes of Health said women should be involved in them, but there's still not a 50-50 split in most drug trials. Cardiovascular disease, heart attack and stroke present different symptoms in women and the treatments impact women differently, so just recognizing that women are different is important. There's also the data out there that suggests women spend as much as 25% more time in poor health compared to men, which equals about nine years. 

HME: How can HME providers better cater to women’s health needs? 

Jensen: Women are looking for an experience that resonates with them. They're looking for somebody to build a relationship with them. If you're selling purely from a functional point of view—just features and benefits—it's not going to fly. You must share with them why it’s important and make them comfortable by taking them on the journey of understanding what brought them in and what they’re looking for. They may have come in for one product, but they may leave with five. 

HME: What are some specific areas of opportunity for women’s health products? 

Jensen: Female incontinence is a huge deal. There’s a product called Elitone and it’s for stress and urge incontinence. It's this little matchbook-sized device with gel pads that go into your underwear. You turn on the device and it's a 20-minute session and it has you do 100 Kegels. It has a billing code, it's Medicare-covered, but it's also approved for retail sale. It's eligible for HSA and FSA reimbursement, and every woman I know would rather fix the problem than Band-Aid the problem. 

HME: Speaking of breaking the one-size-fits all model, where can providers specialize in women’s health? 

Jensen: Custom breast prostheses—now more than ever just because of the increased accessibility. It's a much better experience and it's actually a cost savings for women who prefer not to have surgical reconstruction. Most manufacturers will use a tablet to scan the patient's chest wall and come up with a unique mold to fit like a puzzle piece. It's so much more comfortable and there’s no inventory because this is an individual scan.