Providers Eager for New Technology, on the Hunt for Retail Products

ORLANDO, Fla.–While the minds of Medtrade 2007 attendees were
focused on issues like competitive bidding and accreditation, a
number of new products unveiled at the show also attracted
attention.

One that created a buzz was Inspired Technologies’ ViaSpire
Liquefier, a device that makes liquid oxygen in a patient’s
home.

“That probably stole the show for me,” said Kevin May, managing
partner of Jackson, Mich.-based Lean Homecare Consulting Group.
May, who also serves on the clinical staff for the University of
Michigan Health System’s home care services division, said his
department is currently moving patients to non-delivery oxygen
systems.

“The thought that we would be able to replace our weekly or
every-other-week deliveries with liquid is a great opportunity,”
May said. However, he added, pointing to the unit’s size, heavy
power consumption and pricing, “I think it’s a technology that
needs to be refined more, but I found it very exciting. Just the
ability to be able to do this is phenomenal.”

May, who attended Medtrade to search out new products, said the
U of M’s home care division had fielded a team of buyers to take
advantage of show specials.

Cindy Ciardo, CEO of West Allis, Wis.-based Knueppel HealthCare
Services, said that, along with attending educational sessions and
networking, her company also attends Medtrade to buy at special
prices, to find new products and identify niche markets. After
recently opening a retail store, Ciardo said she was looking for
products that are “different,” that aren’t readily accessible in
the local Wal-Mart and that she can sell for cash as opposed to
medical items that require insurance billing.

Ciardo said she found several products that fit the bill,
including fashion medical ID bracelets from Lauren’s Hope, a
retail-packaged diabetic skin care line from Masada and the Big
John, a wide toilet seat for bariatric clients.

“Medtrade wasn’t as good for us as years past,” Ciardo said,
“but we still were able to bring back some new information, new
product ideas and shared time with old friends. So it was worth
it.”

Dr. Philip Paul Weiner, the owner of Weiner’s Home Health Care
Center in Pikesville, Md., said his main purpose at the show this
year was to attend sessions.

“We’ve attended seven sessions–three Tuesday, three Wednesday
and one this morning,” he said on the last day of the show. “If I
pick up one idea, something I can change to make my business
better, I do it.”

But Weiner said he was buying as well. “I usually bring down
orders with me and just pretty much hand them to the reps that I
already know, because there are specials,” he said. “I’m always
looking for new markets, especially new niche markets.”

One product Weiner liked was the Mediflash, a UBS computer stick
that can hold a patient’s medical information and be worn as a
necklace or bracelet. “I always find something that interests me,”
he said.

At the show’s New Product Pavilion, attendees had a chance to
cast their votes for best new products in three categories.

The Innovation Award went to Healthcraft Products for its
Dependa-Bar weight-bearing bath safety device. PDG Group garnered
the Provider’s Choice Award for its Fuze Power Tilt feature, and
Life Gear won the Merit Award for its Comfort Zone portable blanket
warming system.