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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Vendors hme news / august 2015 / www.hmenews.com 21 By Liz BeauLieu, editor EXETER, Pa. – Quantum rehab takes feedback so seriously it now has a system in place that allows its feld staff to direct comments straight to the company's corpo- rate headquarters in real time. the Quantum rapid response system is a secure website that feld staff access using their smartphones, tablets or computers, and then log the feedback they hear from consumers, clinicians and providers. "consumer outcomes are very important to us," said Megan Kutch, director of prod- uct marketing at Quantum rehab. "Users are the ones using our chairs on a daily basis, so it's important for us to know exact- ly what they want, whether it's an accessory or a seating system, and get it to market as soon as we can." once feedback is logged into the system, "everyone sees it all at once," Kutch says— r&D;, quality, production, sales, customer service, even Pride Mobility Products ceo scott Meuser. Depending on the feedback, the appropriate department hits the ground running. the system has already resulted in a sig- nifcant product tweak. Quantum rehab upped the maximum speed for its iLevel technology to 3.5 mph after a consumer commented that it would be nice to go faster crossing the street, Kutch said. "We're getting, just to give you a quick average, more than 10 posts per day with various feedback," she said. In addition to new product ideas and tweaks, the system also improves commu- nication among the different departments, allowing the company's feld staff to be more responsive to consumers, clinicians and pro- viders, Kutch says. "a couple of days ago, there was a note in the system from field staff about a knobby tire option," she said. "We were able to tell them, 'that's going to be avail- able shortly. We're just waiting for inven- tory.' they didn't have to call around and fnd out." Initially, Quantum rehab launched the system just for its domestic sales force, but based on its success, the company has decid- ed to use it globally, Kutch said. "so we're looking at things from all dif- ferent angles," she said. hMe A DIRECT LINE TO QUANTUM REHAB Megan Kutch ROScOE c o n t i n u e d f r o m p r e v i o u s pa g e program, but due to regulations we cannot make any other comments.") Moore says roscoe Medical already has a MaP policy in place for its pain man- agement products. the company's dealer network sells these products to physical therapists and chiropractors. "It's been very effective," he said. to give the policy teeth, roscoe Medi- cal has hired an outside company to track pricing, mostly online. Providers that violate the policy will have their accounts put on hold for a certain number of days and if they continue to violate the policy eventually have them terminated. "they've been incredible at reducing the number of violations so far," Moore said. e-commerce expert Justin racine says MaP policies put the emphasis on brand integrity and, more importantly, custom- er experience. "If the playing feld is fair, providers have to develop services that keep the customer coming back to them because pricing is not an option," said racine, marketing and e-commerce manager for geriatric Medical, a supplier of whole- sale medical products to long-term care, homecare and nursing facilities. the viverity brand has exceeded roscoe Medical's expectations—all the more reason to protect it, Moore says. the company added to the brand in June with a pain relief pad with refllable elec- trode pads. "the pads will keep customers com- ing back to the store," he said. "that's where we're focusing our attention with viverity—on products with a disposable component that keep customers coming back." hMe special report on oXYGen continued TRANSFILL c o n t i n u e d f r o m p r e v i o u s pa g e STREET c o n t i n u e d f r o m p r e v i o u s pa g e DRIVE c o n t i n u e d f r o m p r e v i o u s pa g e reimbursement from Medicare, according to the HMe Databank. Invacare officials say HomeFill is a "growth target" for the company. "We're seeing a lot of mid- to large-sized accounts convert to HomeFill," said niraj Patel, business unit director for respiratory. "the past few months have been heavy." offcials expect that trend to continue, if not intensify, in the ramp up to the nation- al rollout of competitive bidding on Jan. 1. the prospect of having bid pricing in effect everywhere is pushing providers, especially those serving more rural areas, toward non- delivery business models that help them reduce costs. "It's a tremendous opportunity to get more conversions," Patel said. "Providers want to be able to stay in business." Devilbiss Healthcare, the manufacturer behind the iFill personal oxygen station, agrees that after a rough patch from 2010- 11, when competitive bidding was initially rolled out and when providers put much of their buying on hold, the demand for trans- flling technology has rebounded. "even as low as rates are, they've stabi- lized, and providers know what their cash fow is going to be going forward," said Jim clement, director of product management, respiratory solutions. "We've had a healthy increase in demand in the last year and a half." hMe economically, you can support a patient any other way." transfilling technology costs more upfront, o'neal says, but it pays for itself in reduced deliveries. the cost-roI ratio isn't so black and white, however, for providers like chris rice. He says he can bundle a portable oxygen concentrator and a stationary oxy- gen concentrator for less money and get the same results. "We use transflling technology spar- ingly," said rice, ceo of Diamond respi- ratory care in riverside, calif. Like rice, provider Fred Jackson uses transflling technology only for certain patients, like those living in more rural areas. "Where it fts in are the distant patients that we take care of that can be 60 miles away," said Jackson, president of salida Medical in salida, colo. "this area is so broad." Jackson says he has five transfilling devices, but Pocs make up the majority of his feet. Whether or not they're using transfll- ing technology, providers agree it's more reliable than Pocs. "the downside with Pocs is they're not as reliable and they get more banged up, so you get more service calls," rice said. hMe providers in a post-competitive bidding envi- ronment that will move to transfll and not Pocs," he said. "not that Pocs are going away. I just think the very sharp upward trend will level off a bit." short term Vs. long term While yoel sees utilization for transflling devices increasing and Pocs decreasing in the short term, he acknowledges that, if a few dominoes fall into place, that may fip- fop in the long-term. "Pocs are great technology and appro- priate for a niche of patients," he said. "But it's not at a place where you can have a truly lightweight sub-fve pound Poc that can be used 24 hours a day and saturate patients with a reasonable battery life. When that happens, it won't just be the future, it'll be the gold standard modality. But I still think it's in the future." Bundle Vs. Bungle some providers may be bundling stationary oxygen concentrators with Pocs for less investment and the same results as transfll devices, at least from a non-delivery per- spective, but that strategy could be short- sighted, yoel says. "every portable oxygen modality and every product within a modality delivers oxygen in a different and specifc way," he said. "It is important for the industry that we think about how to oxygenate frst and conserve second." hMe short takes Tulsa-based Compression Solutions host- ed a grand opening on June 11 for its new $24-million facility. The 20,000-square-foot building allows the company to consolidate its three separate facilities into one space, putting its 40 employees under one roof… Goleta, Calif.-based Inogen has been hon- ored as "Company of the Year" at the South Coast Business & Technology Awards… Performance Health has relaunched Perfor- manceHealthAcademy.com, formerly Thera- BandAcademy.com. In addition to focusing on the TheraBand, the academy will now begin to offer resources for the company's grow- ing portfolio of interconnected products… Jim Greatorex has joined The VGM Group's Retail Services Group. Greatorex, who has more than 20 years of HME retail experience, has been tasked with fnding new products to help VGM members increase sales and build proftable retail businesses. Greatorex founded Portland, Maine-based Black Bear Medical supply in 1988 and is a former presi- dent of NEMED…Breathe Technologies has received 510(k) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration for its Life2000 ventila- tion system…Community Medical Products now offers the Melio Self-Emptying Leg Bag System. The Prairie du Sac, Wis.-based pro- vider has a self-pay option for the product… American Medical Sales and Chart Indus- tries have partnered to donate a new SeQual eQuinox portable oxygen concentrator to 6-year-old Cooper Anglemyer after Medicaid refused to pay for it. Anglemyer suffers from chronic lung disease and requires constant oxygen and a full-time nurse to monitor his oxygen levels…Invacare was a national host sponsor and the offcial wheelchair of the 35th National Veterans Wheelchair Games. Pre- sented by Paralyzed Veterans of America and the Department of Veterans Affairs, more than 600 veterans were expected to compete in the games, scheduled for June 21-26 in Dallas… Brightree has appointed two new executives to support growth at the company: Lori Jones as executive vice president and general man- ager of home health, hospice and private duty; and Shaw Rietkerk as executive vice presi- dent and general manager of revenue cycle management…Therafrm's new Ease brand of compression legwear was named Most In- novative Retail Product of 2015 as part of the "Retail Idol" competition at The VGM Group's recent Heartland Conference…The Accredi- tation Commission for Health Care's sleep accreditation program has been accepted by PacifcSource Health Plans. This allows ACHC-accredited sleep providers in Oregon, Idaho, Washington and Montana to access PacifcSource's network of 275,000 covered lives…Medela has partnered with the Wound Care Education Institute to provide industry certifcation to its professional wound care staff…Medline and Brightree have expanded an existing partnership to bring a new sup- ply interface to the market for licensed home health and hospice dealers…Ottobock will partner with UNYQ to provide stylish pros- thetics for lower limb amputees. UNYQ uses 3D printing to customize prosthetic fairings… Advanced Health Care Products has ac- quired PDG Product Design Group, a Vancou- ver, British Columbia-based manufacturer of tilt-in-space, bariatric and high performance wheelchairs. Advanced Health Care is a dis- tributor of home health care, long-term care and rehab products with a portfolio of 15 brands.