Archive: March 2014

A. Your organization is unique and the specific operational protocols established by your organization should be unique also. Despite uniqueness, a commonality exists between all DME suppliers when something new, such as the face-to-face rule, is established, and the most important operational protocol for all stakeholders with the face-to-face rule is education. CMS refers to operational protocols as those internal processes established by collaboration of DME suppliers and physicians to ensure...

EASTON, Pa. - When a local DME repair shop owner sold his business to another company located far away, provider Ron Frantz saw a great opportunity.“People were calling and complaining that they weren't getting their equipment back fast enough,” said Frantz, medical director of the home healthcare department for Bell Apothecary. “I approached him and we opened up a repair shop right in our facility and now he works for me.”The shop does repairs on equipment such as wheelchairs,...

SOMERSET, Pa. - Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett recently visited DeVilbiss Healthcare's corporate headquarters here, commending the company for its efforts to bring jobs back to the U.S. Corbett met with the DeVilbiss management team, toured the manufacturing facility and addressed the company's more than 200 onsite employees. Bringing China-based product lines back to the Somerset facility has created more than 25 direct assembly, engineering and quality jobs, and several indirect vendor...

WASHINGTON - AAHomecare is conducting a short survey on the level of awareness among patients on Medicare issues and reform. The association will use the results of the survey as a benchmark to track the progress of its new patient awareness campaign, “Save My Medical Supplies.” Campaign resources and specifics will be shared in the upcoming weeks, AAHomecare says.

Instant Diagnostic Systems (IDS) has made several moves in the past few months to better position itself to take advantage of the growing market for home-sleep testing (HST). One of those moves: The Decatur, Ala.-based in-home diagnostic company brought onboard Christian Kiely, previously at Apria Healthcare. Here's what Kiely, vice president of marketing and sales, had to say about the big changes brewing in sleep.HME News: Why does the company think more and more testing will move to the home?Christian...

WASHINGTON - The National Association for Homecare (NAHC) is laying the groundwork for a possible lawsuit against CMS's implementation of the face-to-face requirement for home health, according to AAHomecare. The association says providers are frustrated with denials related to the face-to-face requirement and believe CMS needs to provide more guidance and clarity. Arguments for the lawsuit include: Claims shouldn't be denied for lack of documentation if it is present in the rest of the medical record;...

GOLETA, Calif. - The impact of competitive bidding is “pretty much behind us,” Inogen President and CEO Raymond Huggenberger said during the company's first-ever earnings call on March 27.Inogen, which completed an initial public offering in February, reported total revenues of $19.8 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2013, a 43% increase over the same period in 2012. It reported net income of $20.1 million, including a one-time tax asset benefit attributable to common stockholders,...

A. Contrary to popular belief, your patients will use online bill pay if you offer it. The key is getting your patients and your staff to believe in the same methodology when it comes to paying bills online.  Surprisingly, baby boomers spend more time online than any other age group, according to eMarketer, a research analyst company. The 65-plus demographic has changed the way they pay—now your company needs to adapt that change and offer the right solution.  Using online bill pay...

FORT WORTH, Texas - Lessons learned had everything to do with the stripped-down, rugged and reliable van that the recently-launched Wheelinit sells to wheelchair users, says Managing Member Micah Mitchell. Here's what he and Business Development Director Bo Dennett had to say about creating the Wheelinit van and how it fits into the mobility van market. HME News: Wheelinit's parent company rented wheelchair accessible vans for 15 years. How did that experience lead you to build the vans...

STRONGSVILLE, Ohio, and NORWELL, Mass. - Roscoe Medical and Carex Health Brands will create a combined company to diversify their product lines and increase their market distribution footprint. Roscoe and Carex also believe a combined company will allow them to accelerate and streamline product development, and better position them to pursue growth opportunities. “We are very excited by the opportunities this merger creates, bringing Carex into many new product categories we haven't...