HME News is the monthly business newspaper for home medical equipment providers. This controlled circulation publication reaches 17,100 home medical equipment services providers, including traditional HME dealers & suppliers, hospital- and pharmacy-o
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Providers ■ ■ Be careful what you tweet, says Dave Bargmann, senior consultant at A/R Allegiance Group. See story this page. Mum's the word on AHP sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Providers share concerns over POCs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Patient Home Monitoring eyes HME companies . . . . . . . 11 Congressman shows support for HME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 www.hmenews.com / August 2015 / hme news 11 Briefs Apria healthcare hires heroes LAKE FOREST, Calif. – Apria Healthcare has renewed its commitment to "Hiring our Heroes" by partnering with Direct Employ- ers Group to launch a Military Occupation Code translator on its career page. The translator will allow transitioning service members to match their military skills and experience with available positions within the company. "At Apria Healthcare, we want to honor our veterans each and ev- ery day," stated John Figueroa, chairman of Apria's board of directors and a veter- an, in a release. "Hiring Our Heroes" was launched in 2014 to offer veterans the op- portunity to make a successful transition to civilian life through employment with Apria. contract providers face termination WASHINGTON – "Secret shopper" calls have lead to dozens of termination letters for contract providers, The VGM Group re- ports. Providers are receiving the letters after failing to respond to the calls. "Re- gional liaisons of the Competitive Bidding Implementation Contractor cited numer- ous complaints about out-of-state sup- pliers not honoring their contracts and in-state providers not offering all product codes within a category," VGM says. If they receive a termination letter, providers have an opportunity to submit a "correc- tive action plan" and/or appeal the termi- nation. "By taking the necessary steps, some providers have enacted plans and their contracts have not been terminated," VGM says. univita opens second pharmacy MIRAMAR, Fla. – Univita Health is opening a second state-of-the-art infusion pharmacy in Orlando, Fla. The pharmacy, which will feature a sterile cleanroom specifically designed for compounding intravenous medications, will offer a wide range of in- fusion therapies, including IV antibiotics, total parenteral nutrition, pain manage- ment and enteral nutrition therapy. It will be located in Univita's distribution center and will serve a 100-mile radius. The com- pany already has such a pharmacy in Mi- ramar, Fla. Together the two pharmacies encompass 11,500 square feet of space and employ 11 full-time pharmacists. The pharmacy is slated to open this summer. People news Jodi Clark has been named assistant direc- tor at Johnstown, Pa.- based Walnut Medical. Clark will help manage the day-to-day opera- tions of the provider's four locations. In addi- tion to Johnstown, Wal- nut Medical has loca- tions in Richland Township, Bedford and Indiana, Pa. By Tracy Orzel, associate editors YARMOUTH, Maine – The technology has become more ubiquitous, but some providers still aren't comfortable using portable oxy- gen concentrators for long-term oxygen therapy, they say. The reason? Reli- ability, in particular when it comes to their shorter battery life. " M o s t o f t h e m aren't really built for 24/7 use," said Rick Adamich, president of Waukesha, Wis.- based Oxygen One, who rents POCs for travel. P ro v i d e r J i m S p e l l m a n agrees. "There are a lot of problems in the feld and it causes a lot of redeliveries and frustration," said Spellman, owner of New Berlin, Wis.-based Home Care Medical, who also rents POCs Providers slow to embrace POCs for travel. Stationary concentrators still account for 95% of Spellman's oxygen business. Despite nagging concerns, providers admit the technology has improved over the last two to three years. "There's one company that has a machine that gets 4 liters continuous, which 80-90% of patients need," said Chris Fuller, vice president of opera- tions at Boiling Springs, S.C.-based Quality Home Care. "If manufacturers continue to hit that 4-liter mark, it makes more sense to move in that direction." One reason providers are eager to move "in that direc- tion" are the substantial cost savings associated with POCs. "POCs are good because they help us monitor our delivery By T. FlaherTy, Managing editor LOS ANGELES – Patient Home Monitoring has been look- ing to grow its core Couma- din business and boost its stock price by rolling up HME companies. "My understanding is PHM feels that oxygen and respi- ratory patients have comor- bidities with the Coumadin patients so they think there's some opportunity there," said Patrick Clifford, managing director, home medical equip- ment, for The Braff Group. Its most recent acquisition: Louisiana-based Sleep Servic- es, which serves 19 states and PHM sees HME as opportunity focuses on providing vents to COPD patients. Other buys include Maine-based Black Bear Medical, K e n t u c k y - based Legacy Oxygen, and Georgia-based Care Medical Partners. The Cana- dian company, which has U.S. headquarters in California, is offering a mix of cash and stock, a deal that always raises red fags with analysts. "If you want to sell to a company, take the cash and buy the stock," says Jonathan Sadock, managing part- ner/CEO of Paragon Ventures. So far, the company's stock is doing well, say ana- lysts. On July 2, it was trading Congressman calls on Hub's Hub's Home Oxygen and Medical Supplies in June welcomed Rep. Tom Marino, R-Pa., to its new location. The congressman toured the facil- ity and spoke with staff about competitive bidding rates, bundling and other HME industry issues. "He understands what we do and appreciates our concerns as cuts are looming," said Eric McNulty, vice president of business and fnance for Hub's. Pictured, from left: McNulty; Chauncy Spearing, vice president, clinical services; Marino; Caryn Plessinger, president; and Ry Carman, respiratory therapist. By Tracy Orzel, associate editor T HE HME industry has picked up on Twitter and Dave Bargmann, senior consultant at A/R Allegiance Group, likes what he sees. W h e n u s e d c o r re c t l y, Twitter allows providers to communicate with con- sumers and increase brand awareness in 140 characters or less. However, gaining Do's and don'ts to tweet by, according to social media experts followers isn't as easy as los- ing them. Here are some tricks and tips from Bargmann and oth- ers to get the most out of Twitter. IncreAsIng trAffIc— the good kInd For providers looking to build followers, Lalaina Rabary sug- gests felding questions from the Twittersphere and posting a "question of the week." "Even if no one submits a question, the provider could think of a frequently asked question they get and answer it on Twitter," said Rabary, a communications and mar- keting specialist for People for Quality Care (PFQC), the advocacy division of The VGM Group. A n o t h - e r o p t i o n i s m o d e r- ated Twit- ter chats— r e a l - t i m e chat rooms focused on a general topic and promoted through a specifc hashtag. "Follow that hashtag and you're interacting with not j u s t o t h e r p e o p l e i n t h e industry but nurses and social workers," said Rabary. "Those are groups I really believe providers should be infltrating." don't overdo It While Twitter is a great way to promote your business, constantly tweeting about what products you offer can drive followers away. "It isn't interesting at all," said Rabary. "People are not going to come back to your Twitter page." Another major mistake providers make is tweeting Chip Fuller technology Drive Twitter traffic up, not away "As the company gets larger, it will need to make more or larger acquisitions to push the growth rates they are currently showing to investors." Ox Y G E N S E E PA g E 1 2 P H M S E E PA g E 1 2 T W I T T E R S E E PA g E 1 2 Stock prices soar as PHM rolls up HME companies Jodi Clark P. Clifford