industry

HME

  • Leading the Charge

    “Here in Washington, we encourage everyone to speak with one voice by ensuring all of our efforts are focused on one message,” according to Kay Cox, president of the Alexandria, Va.-based American Association for Homecare. And, she says, she intends for that home care message to be heard. Immediately after stepping into her new role on June 1, Cox was faced with leading the charge against proposed Medicare reform measures — competitive bidding, copayment of the home health benefit — that she labels as “very harmful to home care patients and providers.” Though at press time the legislation was stalled in conference committee, the association continues to press the home care cause with a concerted national lobbying effort and a companion grassroots campaign. Cox has…
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  • Provider Scanning Events Promote Custom Breast Prosthetic

    As founder of the Facial Restoration Center at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, ocularist L. Daniel Eaton works with patients who have been disfigured by disease or trauma. For these people, the lifelike facial prostheses Eaton creates — noses, eyes, eyelids with lashes, skin — often not only restore their appearance but also give back their self-esteem and strengthen their emotional health. One such patient, who was also a breast cancer survivor, asked Eaton why doctors couldn’t work the same way to craft a post-mastectomy prosthesis. Her question led to a decade of conversations and input from other survivors, and resulted in Eaton’s development of a lightweight custom breast prosthesis. “Our initial research started with survivors,” Eaton says, noting that ContourMed, the company…
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  • Latest HME News

  • Rise & Shine with HomeCare

    Beginning the show each morning of Medtrade 2003, HomeCare magazine will sponsor an opening session designed to get your day going with a focus on the future. These information-packed daily seminars will spotlight legislative issues, business forecasting and strategies for professional achievement that will keep you informed, get you prepared and move you toward success in home health care’s changing landscape. First up on Thursday, Oct. 9, the American Association for Homecare will present its “Washington Update,” where you will learn about the association’s fight against competitive bidding and other reimbursement-reducing legislation currently facing the industry. Never before has it been so important to understand how decisions in Washington can affect your company. Hear first-hand what issues are being discussed, what they mean for you,…
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  • Take Your Seat

    Past the opportunity to see 250,000 home medical products and visit with 1,000 manufacturers, distributors and service companies on the exhibit floor, Medtrade 2003 also offers an educational program encompassing specialty training events and a full conference schedule. More than 180 sessions will cover business and industry topics in 11 different tracks, including: accreditation; business operations/customer service; home health/clinical; information technology; legal/legislative; pharmacy; profesional motivation; re/habilitation and assistive technology; reimbursement; respiratory; and sales and marketing. So sharpen your pencils and take notes, because class is officially in session. Check for last-minute additions, special sessions and events or time changes so you won’t miss a thing! Thursday, October 9 [7:30 a.m. – 8:15 a.m.] Opening Session AAHomecare’s “Washington Update” [8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.] Benchmarking HME…
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  • Feds Crack Down on Power Wheelchair Fraud

    Washington and Baltimore On Sept. 9, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services took drastic action to clean up billing fraud in the durable medical
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  • New Products

    PlainSense Wheelchairs/Wheelchair OiS — Orientation in Space Wheelchair Call 770/632-5782. Web site: www.plainsense-wheelchairs.com Circle 494 or visit www.homecaremonday.com for company information. Hatch Corporation/Wheelchair Gloves Shear Stop Push/Cycle Gloves Call 800/767-1343. Web site: www.hatch-corp.com Circle 499 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Columbia Medical/Bath Chair Contour Ultima Call 800/454-6612. Web site: www.columbiamedical.com Circle 497 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. James Consolidated/Mattress Replacement System Platinum I Call 800/884-3317. Web site: www.volkner.com Circle 492 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Three Rivers/Wheelchair Handrim Natural-Fit Call 480/833-1829. Web site: www.3rivers.com Circle 493 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Responsive Respiratory/Percussor Respond G5 Percussor Call 866/333-4030. Web site: www.respondo2.com Circle 500 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Respironics/Mask ComfortFull Full Face Mask Call 800/962-1266. Web site: www.respironics.com Circle 489…
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  • Rehab Products

    Sunrise Medical/Wheelchair IRIS — Intelligent Rotation in Space Call 800/333-4000. Web site: www.sunrisemedical.com Circle 446 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Altimate Medical/Standing System EasyStand 6000 Glider Call 800/342-8968. Web site: www.easystand.com Circle 450 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Ex N’ Flex/Therapy Equipment Ex N’ Flex Activity-Based Therapy Equipment Call 888/298-9922. Web site: www.exnflex.com Circle 448 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Quantum Rehab/Cantilever System TRU-Balance Call 800/800-8586. Web site: www.quantumrehab.com Circle 444 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Innovation in Motion/Wheelchair Frontier Call 800/327-0681. Web site: www.vestil.com/wc Circle 447 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. TiLite/Wheelchair ZRA Call 800/545-2266. Web site: www.tilite.com Circle 440 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Bio-Medical Devices/Cryotherapy Products Iceberg Call 800/443-3842. Web site: www.bio-bmdi.com Circle 441 or visit…
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  • Sound the Alarm

    The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ “Operation Wheeler Dealer” hit the trade press and even the mainstream press in early September. If there is any good news hidden in this massive motorized wheelchair scandal, it is that this represents a needed wake-up call for both the home medical equipment industry and the federal government. Both parties need to do a better job to ensure that scam artists cannot so easily rip off the Medicare rogram and pollute our industry. While we can and should fault the regulators who failed to notice the dramatic increase in new supplier numbers coming out of Harris County, Texas, and the unbelievable rise in claims for motorized wheelchairs coming out of the same area in a year, that is…
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  • Little Things

    In the HME business, the No. 1 issue typically is reimbursement — with good reason. Reimbursement directly impacts your bottom line. And, while my main focus as a consultant is on reimbursement — as should your focus be as an HME provider — I also like to step away occasionally from the “big” issue and focus on the smaller issues that make HME companies unique. How many times have you heard the phrase “It’s the little things that matter”? Whether related to service or operational protocol, the day-to-day tactics you employ to run your business successfully also impact your bottom line. Be Our Guest To make sure she takes care of the little things, Kelly Riley, director of ViaChristi at Home in Ponca City, Okla.,…
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  • Books for HME Providers

    Direct-Mail Simplicity The U.S. Postal Service created “Simple Formulas: The Easy Way to Grow Your Business with Mail” to help small businesses with mailing and marketing. The program publishes various free booklets, from Stirring Up Sales with a Simple Catalog and The Five Habits of Highly Effective Postcards to The Six Features of Graphic Design That Sell. Each is available at www.usps.gov/directmail. To access, click “Simple Formulas” on the right menu bar. Talk the Talk Len Serafino wrote Sales Talk to help home care professionals talk the talk. The book covers conveying passion in a pitch, using presentation tools, approaching a sales call, knowing when to listen, mastering public speaking and factoring in non-oral communication. The book tells how to assess communication skills, helps eliminate…
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  • People on the Move

    Cara C. Bachenheimer will join Invacare, Elyria, Ohio, Oct. 20 as vice president of government relations. A specialist in health care legislation and rgulatory matters related to Medicare, Medicaid and other third-party payment programs, Bachenheimer was a partner with the Washington, D.C., law firm of Epstein Becker & Green. She previously served as vice president, member services, for the American Association for Homecare and worked with the Health Industry Distributors Association. Bachenheimer replaces David T. Williams, who, after 11 years in the position, has announced it is necessary for him to reduce his workload. He will remain associated with Invacare in a limited consulting role. Former Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General Janet Rehnquist has joined Washington, D.C.-based Venable LLP, where she will…
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  • Pulling Together On Capitol Hill

    “We’ve got to be a team. Teamwork wins. If we don’t hang together, it’s for sure we’re going to hang separately.” Shelly Prial, HomeCare magazine, November 1999 The question is, is the home health care industry, circa 2003, hanging together? Or is it still in danger of hanging separately? Four years ago, just before the calendar flipped over into a new century, the industry — home medical equipment, home health agencies, home infusion, respiratory and rehabilitation — was in turmoil. Reimbursement was on a downhill slide. Federal mandates such as inherent reasonableness, competitive bidding, consolidated billing and the interim payment system were wreaking havoc in HME businesses and HHAs alike. Many simply shut up shop. Key stakeholders prescribed one antidote for the industry’s critical condition:…
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