Chris Rice is looking at the value of Medtrade through the
prism of competitive
bidding. Like any other home medical equipment provider, the
director of marketing at Diamond Respiratory Care in Riverside,
Calif., is closely monitoring his expenses.
"I questioned as to whether or not to go [to Medtrade]," he said
truthfully. After all, flying across the country, from California
to Atlanta, Ga., takes a day coming and going, there are hotel and
meal expenses and time away from his company.
Still, he decided this was a year he didn't want to miss. With a
new round of competitive bidding in the offing, not to mention the
constant upheaval in just about every sector of HME, Rice decided a
trip to Medtrade in Atlanta could be very helpful.
"Aside from the seminars, I am actually going there to shop," he
said. "I want to start comparing prices and see who is going to
give us the absolute best prices that we can do a bid on."
Rice said he expects the new round of CMS' competitive bidding
project, which is set to be implemented in January 2011, to be
worse than last year's aborted round. He needs his bids to be
competitive and something he can live with.
"We've done as much as we possibly can do efficiency-wise and
cutting our costs in that respect, and now I've got to look at the
cost of goods," he said. "So I'm jumping on a plane and I'm going
to Medtrade."
Darren Tarleton, president and CEO of Mobility Warehouse in
Stockbridge, Ga., doesn't have to go across country — he's
only 20 minutes away from the Atlanta show — but he is also
going to investigate manufacturers' products and pricing.
"You've constantly got to be looking at those kinds of items and
find ways to cut costs," he said. The difference in price might be
only $5, he said, but in a reduced reimbursement environment, every
$5 counts.
Tarleton said he will also check out the educational tracks for
innovative ideas on how to stay in business. "With competitive
bidding coming back around, you may not be able to do Medicare in
three or five years. It's going to cause me to make some changes
around here," he said, noting that 35 to 40 percent of his business
is Medicare.
BUILDING A BETTER MEDTRADE
Organizers believe Rice and Tarleton, as well as the thousands
of other providers coming to the show, won't be disappointed in
what this year's Medtrade — the 30th one — has to
offer.
Responding to concerns from exhibitors and attendees alike about
declining attendance, tired educational tracks and the absence of
key manufacturers, Medtrade management has aligned with top
industry stakeholders to build a better conference and expo this
year.
That they have made some significant changes is evidenced by the
fact that some big players who have been absent for a few years are
returning in 2009. Drawn by Medtrade officials' openness to
crafting a show that will more acutely address the industry's
needs, Invacare is returning to the fall show, which will be held
Oct. 12-15 at the Georgia World Congress Center.
The Roho Group and Drive Medical are also back, and other
manufacturers, such as Pride Mobility/Quantum Rehab are expanding
their presence. In addition, the National Registry of
Rehabilitation Technology Suppliers, which sat out last year's
show, is returning. VGM will bring back its 15-company "VGM
Village," and The MED Group will sponsor a members pavilion.
"What we have tried to do is listen to exhibitors and attendees
and get a better sense of what they want Medtrade to be," said
Kevin Gaffney, group show director for Nielsen Business Media.
The "new" Medtrade will feature an intensified focus on
advocacy, government affairs and continuing education and training
for home care professionals, all features that industry leaders
have championed.
"With the support of some of these key companies, we have that
commitment to move forward and make some changes that are
impactful," Gaffney said.
A key component of a more "impactful" show will be the advocacy
piece. Medtrade has inked a 15-year contract with the American
Association for Homecare that gives the organization a bigger role
in shaping the conference. Medtrade will also provide significant
funding to bolster AAHomecare's industry lobbying and advocacy
efforts.
"We can't do everything overnight, but we are listening to
[everyone's] concerns," Gaffney said.
RENEWED FOCUS ON REHAB
Proof of that is the complex rehab pavilion sponsored by NRRTS,
which is designed to heighten the visibility of small rehab
providers by corralling them in one large area.
"When a small complex rehab company exhibits at Medtrade, they
can get lost in the sea of enteral feeding tubes and diapers and
power wheelchairs. It's just not conducive for appropriate traffic
flow," said Simon Margolis, executive director of NRRTS. "If you
can position like manufacturers and like organizations in a more
centralized area, then you can maximize the more valuable traffic
that is going to make a difference to these folks in the long
run."
For his part, Tarleton said he likes the idea of pavilions.
"It makes it easier if companies that have similar products are
grouped together," he said. That will allow him to easily compare
products he is interested in and identify any new manufacturers, he
said.
Nielsen's willingness to make changes has heartened Margolis.
"NRRTS was involved [in Medtrade] in the past and we were
uninvolved last year. We decided things weren't going in the right
direction," Margolis said.
But things are different this year.
"Medtrade has made a commitment to try and pull in more
clinicians, referral sources, etc.," Margolis said.
Encouraged by that, NRRTS has not only come back to Medtrade, it
has expanded its participation. In addition to its pavilion, the
organization will sponsor two educational programs this year. The
first, "Complex Rehab Legislative and Regulatory Update," will be
presented by Don Clayback, executive director of NCART, the
National Coalition for Assistive and Rehabilitation Technology. The
second, "Consumer Self-Advocacy, The Key to the Future of Complex
Rehab," will feature Ann Eubank, executive director of the Users
First Alliance, and Jeffrey Leonard, publisher of New
Mobility.
NRRTS will also have an expanded booth near NCART and RESNA
(Rehabilitation Engineering Society of North America) to build on
"all the influences of these organizations in the same place.
"We'll be there to talk about legislative advocacy, what's going
on on Capitol Hill and certification," Margolis said. "We're trying
to create a synergy that really works. I think we can do it. If we
can pull it off on a small scale this year, then we will work with
Medtrade again."
Other new features are on tap for the October show include:
stronger, more pertinent educational courses, many of which will
offer continuing education units at what Gaffney called an
"accessible" cost;
the addition of a "Hot Topics" conference to address
up-to-the-minute developments;
an interactive New Products Pavilion with video presentations
and live demonstrations; and
a last-day consumer-oriented event that will feature a panel
discussion of consumer/clinician advocacy, how it works and why it
is important. Gaffney said he is working with a number of consumer
and clinician groups to attend the session and also enjoy some free
time on the exhibit floor where they can see products and talk to
manufacturers.
The planned enhancements to Medtrade are garnering strong
support from industry stakeholders.
RALLYING BEHIND THE EFFORT
Carl Will, Invacare's senior vice president, homecare, North
America, said his company has gone "to great lengths" to work with
Nielsen on changing Medtrade's direction. He said he is looking for
four components at the newly designed show.
"We want it to be an advocacy show," he said, noting that
Medtrade should be the places where all industry stakeholders meet
yearly for advocacy, education, and new product information. "The
next part is, we want a market of providers but also clinicians and
beneficiaries … If you want to show someone what you do, it's
not how you do Medicare billing, it's not your income statements
— in this industry, it's the interface with clinicians and
beneficiaries.
"The third part for us," he continued, "is it's [got] to be a
good product show. What providers and managers look at in terms of
this show … is the amount and quality of conversations they
had." From a manufacturer's standpoint, he said, that can be "a
very rich discussion because people can give you direct feedback on
your product. And you can reach out to the community."
The fourth piece of the puzzle, he said, is training and
education. "Times are tough, money is tight, but people will travel
[for that]," he said.
If Medtrade delivers those four things, Will said, "the show
should do well … [we want to] see a professional
organization, run professionally, that delivers a valuable service.
That's what we are going for."
For its part, Pride is pleased show organizers are moving
Medtrade away from principally being a selling show to one that not
only showcases new products and technology but also tackles the
industry's big challenges.
"We are extremely pleased with the direction Medtrade has
taken," said Kirsten DeLay, Pride's senior vice president, sales
management and operational planning. "In the last year-and-a-half,
we feel that Nielsen has been extremely open to all of the
exhibitor input."
DeLay said the show has been refocused and strengthened "for
these times." Medtrade faltered, she said, when massive changes
struck the HME sector over the last two years and stakeholders
"were not really convinced that Medtrade understood our
industry."
But the changes Medtrade has undertaken should dispel those
concerns. The beefed-up educational courses should draw more
therapists, DeLay said, and Pride is fully supporting the complex
rehab pavilion. In addition to its regular exhibit space, Pride
will have three booths in the pavilion showcasing its TRU-Balance,
Q-Logic Drive Control Systems and Synergy cushions and back
lines.
"And, for the first time, we are going to have the Quantum
Seminar Tour [at the show]," DeLay said. "Our vehicle and all the
presenters will be there."
Pride will offer three CEU courses from the seminar tour, she
said. "We're not the only ones doing that, so hopefully, that will
help change the focus of the education piece," she noted.
DeLay said what ties everything together now is the renewal of
the AAHomecare contract. "We really needed Nielsen to make a strong
commitment to our industry and help fund AAHomecare," she said.
"All of these positive changes make it better for all of us,"
she continued, noting that this year's show has the potential to
offer superior education, to discuss the industry's most pressing
issues and to support AAHomecare.
It could also bolster unity among the industry, and that's
already begun with the companies that have returned to the show,
she said.
"Unity is what's most important with the challenges we face,"
DeLay said. "Those exhibitors who choose to come back have helped
to show the industry is united and Medtrade has helped to make it a
more comprehensive show."
