Quality spurs BOC biz

OWINGS MILLS, Md.- As payers increasingly focus on the quality and competence of DME suppliers, those suppliers are increasingly recognizing the value of having one or more certified DME specialists (CDME) on staff.
And for that, they are turning to the Board of Certfication/Accreditation (BOC).
That interest in DME certification is one reason why BOC recently moved to an office space nearly 50% larger than its former space, explains Claudia Zacharias, president and CEO of the not-for-profit organization.
But Zacharias notes the certification doesn't only reassure payers and the DME companies that employ CDMEs.
“The certification can give an individual a competitive edge in his or her own career,” she said, “so it's a win for both the certificant and the employer.”
In addition to growing its DME certification business, BOC has made some internal changes over the past year, including consolidating certification and accreditation departments, and sunsetting the orthotist, prosthetist and pedorthist certifications.
As Zacharias sees it, those moves “will lead to greater growth opportunities for the organization and streamline those professions' credentialing options.”
“We remain strongly committed to providing ongoing certification and advocacy for all our current certificants, but recognize the need to maintain a healthy business by growing in other areas,” she said.
To facilitate that growth, Zacharias said BOC's business development team has been focused on introducing more customers to the advantages of BOC accreditation. She says the team has “has been a great success, exceeding target growth numbers for two consecutive years.”
As for what's next, Zacharias pointed to the introduction of a new non-sterile compounding accreditation program for pharmacies in July.