Face to Face with Physicians

There’s something good going on in Omaha, Neb., when it comes to the home medical equipment business.

At family-run Kohll’s Pharmacy & Homecare, the focus isn’t on what the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is doing, or reimbursement or the impending implementation of competitive bidding. It’s on getting patients what they need.

Indeed, says Joe Pepitone, the company’s mobility manager, “the biggest issue for me is getting to my patients for service and being able to help them when they need it.”

In fact, says Pepitone, the company’s mission statement is “Identifying the needs of the patients to make their lives better.” That goal has propelled the company, a full-serve HME provider with seven branches, into some innovative ways of doing business that are paying off in terms of growth, a low turnover rate among its 175 employees and patient satisfaction.

Face to Face

It’s quite common, for example, for Pepitone to accompany a patient to a doctor’s appointment, often with a piece of equipment in tow.

That practice started several years ago when Pepitone, who has been with the company for seven years, decided to accompany a young man to his doctor’s appointment to demonstrate a tilt chair. The doctor had the opportunity to observe the patient in the tilt chair, study the wheelchair itself and truly ascertain whether it was needed.

It might have been a bold move, but it was a successful one. Pepitone has been accompanying patients ever since.

Making the effort — and taking the time — to accompany a patient to a doctor’s appointment is beneficial on a number of accounts, Pepitone says. “You go and meet and you have the paperwork there and everything is handled, as opposed to faxing something over and hoping it gets handled,” he explains.

“The doctors really appreciate it,” he continues, “because they might not have all the verbiage and language that goes into the documentation. I can bring a chair with me and show the doctor what it will do and how it will benefit a patient. And that is really good.”

Physicians, Pepitone notes, don’t have time to keep up with the fast-changing HME field. They often don’t know what products and technologies are available. Pepitone thinks it’s his company’s job to educate them.

In light of recent changes in mobility equipment reimbursement requirements, which require physician documentation, the practice could be especially helpful. “When a doctor prescribes something for a patient, [he or she] may not know what the criteria is for getting that item. It’s my job to let them know what that criteria is.

“You’re bringing the two professions together with the ultimate goal in mind of doing the best for the patient,” he says.

That doesn’t mean always giving the patient what he or she wants. Pepitone often goes face to face with the doctor, “even if it is not necessary and you’re trying to rule out an item. A lot of times, you have a patient who is insisting on something and it’s not at all appropriate. It might be the patient saw a product on TV and wants the item, but that’s not what they need.”

Or, he notes, doctors sometimes prescribe a wheelchair when the patient really just needs a rollator.

“A lot of times, you get a prescription for a scooter and that’s not at all what the patient needs,” says Pepitone. “It’s very helpful to bring in a chair to show the doctor the difference between a programmable chair and one with a tiller.” A visit to the doctor also can reveal other patient needs, such as grab bars, lift chairs and raised toilet seats, he notes.

Such efforts to work with physicians on behalf of Kohll’s patients have gone far in cementing strong relationships and, often, in opening the door to new business, according to Pepitone.

“The doctors are more apt to call me back and refer me to other doctors because I help them get the patient into equipment they need.”

Solid Staffing

Perhaps because Kohll’s started out in 1948 as a pharmacy, it has a history of solid relationships with physicians. That allows staff to call a physician directly with questions as they are trying to service patients.

“We have knowledgeable employees, and there’s no fear in identifying patient needs,” Pepitone explains. “We’ll call the doctor right from the desk and engage the doctors right there. ‘Have you noticed this?’ And they might say, ‘No, I didn’t really know about it.’ We try to work closely with the physicians and get them involved.”

Correctly identifying customer needs is vital, Pepitone says. “You have to have people working for you who can recognize patients’ needs,” he says, noting that if staff fails to do that, the patient won’t be well-served.

Kohll’s, says Pepitone, maintains a training program for all of its employees. “We send people to Medtrade and Medtrade [Spring],” he notes, adding that the company believes those trade shows are not just for management only. Staff members get specialized training as well.

“We have trained mastectomy fitters and trained compression hosiery fitters,” he points out, “and the same holds true for occupational therapy with rehab, lifts and power chairs. We have individual experts in each area, and each store has these people.”

New Ventures

In another effort to serve its patients better, Kohll’s has implemented a “future orders” department.

Employees who have already had significant experience on the showroom floor work on a special phone line to help people with reorders of such things as diabetic and ostomy supplies. “[Those things] fall through the cracks if you don’t have people monitoring when they need to be resent,” Pepitone says.

That group of employees, he adds, has been “tremendous in discovering what those customers might need. I’ve listened to those conversations, and it’s like [those staffers] are talking to their family. They know everybody and they know about their [patients’] families. It’s a really nice part of the company that’s growing.”

The company will soon branch out into another area: conversion vans. “When a person gets a wheelchair and they still want to be independent, we want to be able to provide [him] not only with a van with a lowered floor and a ramp but also hand controls and the lockdowns,” Pepitone says.

The vans will be available at the company’s largest store in Omaha in the near future. Pepitone sees the move as just another step in being a real one-stop shop. “You don’t want to inconvenience someone who has been disabled and has that obstacle to get over. You just want to do everything for them,” he says, noting that requiring a patient to run all over town for various services is problematic and discouraging.

There’s always something good going on at Kohll’s, it seems. “My company has been designed on rapid change,” says Pepitone. “Being able to change on our feet from one day to the next has made us successful. We look at it as roll with it, educate [staff, patients and physicians] and keep on top of your patients’ needs.”

Being diversified also is key, he believes. “Having a wide variety of [products and services] to offer, not just one thing, is incredibly important not only for the survival of the company but also for the patient.”

It always comes back to the patient — and Pepitone says it will always be that way at Kohll’s. “Our future plan is to keep getting better at what we do now, challenging ourselves to go that extra mile and getting people taken care of,” he says. “You have to help this person, and you can’t let it go.

“You won’t be able to sleep at night if you don’t do the right thing for that person, and you feel so gratified when it works out.”

Company Snapshot

Kohll’s Pharmacy & Homecare

• Pharmacy and full-service home medical equipment provider
• Seven branches in the Omaha, Neb., area
• 175 employees
• Accredited by the Community Health Accreditation Program
• Mission: “Identifying the needs of the patients to make their lives better”

How to be a Patient-Pleaser

Kohll’s Pharmacy & Homecare focuses on putting patient needs first, says mobility manager Joe Pepitone. Here are some patient-pleasing tips:

• Treat each patient the way you would your own family.
• Be sure to identify all the needs your patient may have.
• Make yourself available to your patients. Give them a cell phone number so they can reach you at any time if they have questions.
• Be open to change, not resistant.
• Become more involved in a patient’s total care. Make appointments with their doctor, and attend them to help address all of that person’s home health care needs.