Classic SleepCare expands 'Scope'

AGOURA HILLS, Calif. - Offshoring has often gotten a bad rap, but for Classic SleepCare, it was a matter of survival and, now, a new business opportunity.

Three years ago, the 20-year-old companyoutsourced some of its employee functions to Manila, in the Phillippines, where the cost of employing someone is about 50% less than in the U.S. In the first year, it saved $4.6 million in payroll costs.

“We wanted to continue to service patients but be able to survive,” said Katherine Royster, executive vice president of business development. “We had to do something drastically different but didn't want to compromise patient care.”

Now Classic SleepCare wants to help other HME providers do the same. It recently launched HealthScope Services to offer offshore staffing services.

Participating providers pay a monthly fee “per seat” for an employee to perform various tasks, everything from administrative functions, to patient services and care, to sales, says Royster.

“I think most companies have gone through significant layoffs in the past few years,” she said. “(Offshoring) gives you an opportunity to start growing your business again or maybe add another line of business and diversify.”

Royster says the service makes the most sense for providers with 20 or more employee positions to offshore. But it doesn't all have to happen at once.

“Most companies identify what their biggest pain point is,” she said. “You could start with patient compliance, patient contact and slowly move it over.”

For anyone who's ever had difficulty communicating with, say, a customer service rep based in India, Royster says, that's not the case with HealthScope employees. The Philippines has a westernized culture—English is widely spoken and the country has a huge surplus of nurses, who are empathetic and caring.

“We pay at the higher end of the scale and people want to work for us,” she said. “We have a low turnover rate and a consistent product. It's the old adage: You get what you pay for.”