Medline sees ‘synergies’ 

NORTHFIELD, Ill. – With more higher acuity patients being taken care of in the home, Medline is making a push for its newly redesigned Remedy line of advanced skin care products to have a bigger presence in the HME market, says Paul Miller. 

The company launched the redesigned line, which, historically, has had a bigger presence in facility settings, in early June. 

“The Remedy line has been around for a long time and it’s a great product that a lot of patients use in a facility and, when they get discharged, want to then purchase in their local community and continue using,” said Miller, director of business development for HME for Medline. “There are a lot of disease states to support it, like diabetes and incontinence, and those are the types of patients primarily under the care of an HME provider in the home. The synergies make sense.” 

Remedy’s new design features color-coded packaging with large, one-word product descriptions: Green products “cleanse” hair and skin; purple products “moisturize” dry skin; blue products “prevent” infection by providing a silicone, protective barrier; orange products “protect” skin exposed to prolonged moisture; and red products “treat” skin with fungal infection.  

Medline has also developed new assets for the Remedy line to better position HME providers as a good resource on advanced skin care. For example, the company provides what it calls clip-on “badge buddies” with QR codes that they can scan to send information, including guidelines and product application videos, to patients. 

“You might think a patient would just go to a Walgreens for skin care, but no one there can talk to them about it and make the proper recommendations,” Miller said. “The employees on the floor are trained to restock and ring up items and the pharmacists don’t typically advise on over-the-counter products. This line allows providers to have their staff empowered on day 1 with a knowledge base for skin care management that’s patient friendly.” 

Medline embarked on the redesign during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the company saw skin issues become more prevalent and wanted to improve the line and expand its reach. It talked to front-line nurses and bedside clinicians, conducted research and hosted focus groups, gathering input on everything from naming to packaging to formulations, says Josh Kolof, director of product management-advanced skin care, at Medline. 

“That’s what makes Remedy so different,” he said. “We’ve done the work and we have 25 pieces of clinical evidence that shows, if you use our products over six to 12 months, they will reduce pressure injuries and skin tears by more than 60% in a facility. Being able to have those claims and back them up – it’s something no one else in the market can do.”