HME Business Podcast

Various healthcare and market trends have been pushing the digital patient experience toward the home medical equipment industry for a few years, but COVID-19 set that motion on fast-forward. So what is the digital patient experience, why is it important to HME, and how do providers optimize and manage their patients' digital experience? Nupura Kolwalkar, Chief Product Officer for HME software com...

It's 2021, and it's time to think about how sales strategy will change for HME this year. Last year brought COVID-19 and with it considerable upheaval when it comes to HME sales, but providers learned several strategic sales lessons and innovated a number of creative solutions to tackle the PHE's challenges. What lessons can they apply this year, and what changes can they expect? Joining the podca...

It's 2021, and with the New Year comes an accreditation renewal cycle for most DMEPOS providers. What do providers need to be thinking about this year and how should they be preparing? How has COVID-19 altered the accreditation process? What other factors could impact how providers proceed? Accreditation expert Sandra C. Canally, RN, the CEO and founder of accreditation organization  The Complianc...

The New Year is nearly upon us, and 2021 represents another big renewal year for DMEPOS accreditation. Moreover, during these three-year renewal cycles, providers often consider switching up their accreditation organization (AO). What are some the reasons that might make a provider consider switching things up? Is COVID-19 playing a role in that decision? What are the timing issues in play? What s...

After weeks of radio silence, CMS finally announced Round 2021 and its proposed rule for rural providers. The announcement was shocking: it was only bidding two categories — both over-the-shelf braces — and punting on the 13 remaining categories. That news left the industry feeling somewhat in limbo and wondering what this meant for pricing and the possibility of futures rounds. Tom Ryan, presiden...

Sleep therapy is a perfect micro that defines the macro of HME when it comes to COVID-19. Sleep therapy providers have had to ascend a steep learning curve to reshape how they safely and effectively provide products and services. Now that we are seven months into the public health emergency, Gary Sheehan, MBA, CEO of  Spiro Health , catches up with the podcast. He discusses sleep care, COVID-19, t...

Back on March 30, CMS suspended its claims audits for the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. Well, CMS surprised everyone in August by announcing it would resume those audits. Audit expert Wayne van Halem, president of The van Halem Group , discusses how CMS will likely phase back in  the DME MAC Targeted Probe and Education, Supplemental Medical Review Contractor (SMRC) reviews and Recovery Audit...

Do you have a free five minutes between now and Aug. 31? Then you have time to protect a vulnerable patient group. Don Clayback, executive director of the National Coalition for Assistive and Rehab Technology ( NCART ), sits down with HMEB to discuss a campaign to convince lawmakers to add their signatures to a House sign-on letter urging CMS to not apply competitive bidding-derived pricing to acc...

Tom Ryan, president and CEO of the American Association for Homecare , stops by to discuss two key items: First, he shines a spotlight on the association's Ambassador Program, a unique effort by high-profile industry stakeholders to get more HME providers involved in the association. Second, he discusses the current effort to get HME stakeholders to help convince lawmakers to sign a House sign-on...

Consumer financing is becoming commonplace in post-acute care, and that includes HME. In fact, with retail sales playing such a pivotal role in provider revenues, accommodating credit is downright essential. However, there are still providers who are unclear on healthcare-specific financing for HME. What do providers need to know to support healthcare credit cards — and reap the benefits? Randy Ba...

Providers and vendors have deployed a lot of smart care tools and solutions during COVID-19. What happens after the crisis passes? Arturo Garcia, senior product manager of connected solutions for sleep therapy equipment maker ResMed , joins the podcast to look at how sleep therapy providers are leveraging virtual and digital solutions during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how those new protocols and c...

New York respiratory, sleep and HME provider Hampton Homecare Inc. has found itself at ground zero of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as its director of operations, Joe Candiano has overseen the company's response to the public health emergency in terms of deliveries, equipment-handling, patient set-up, telehealth, staffing and other aspects of the business. Joe talks about the measures his business ha...

Sponsored by  McKesson , our special COVID-19 coverage continues with a deep dive into the many regulatory changes at the Federal and state level — as well as with private payer insurance — to help HME providers continue serving patients during the pandemic. The American Association for Homecare's Kim Brummett, regulatory affairs VP, and Laura Williard, payer relations VP, join the podcast to disc...

In this special episode, accreditation expert Sandra Canally, RN, founder and CEO of The Compliance Team , joins the podcast to provide a mountain of specific, how-to information on how HME providers can implement processes and procedures that will help protect their patients and staff, while continuing to provide care and services. She reviews practices HME businesses should implement at the stor...

Sponsored by PlayMaker Health — An in-depth effort to interview more than 20 HME providers of varying types and business models has uncovered common responses to COVID-19 being implemented across the industry. Ty Bello, president of HME sales and management consulting firm Team @Work, joins the HMEB Podcast to discuss his qualitative survey, which covered COVID-19 protocols for all aspects of HME:...

One group of HME providers having to face COVID-19 head on are oxygen providers. The patients they serve are some of the most vulnerable to the disease. Josh Parnes, president of national provider AdaptHealth , which provides a full suite of HME supplies and services, including in-home and portable Oxygen, ventilation and CPAP and BIPAP, outlines the various steps his business has taken to protect...

As with all other facets of U.S. healthcare, the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the HME industry in a big way. Gary Sheehan, MBA, president and CEO of Cape Medical Supply , explains in detail how his business prepared in terms of staff protection, patient care, teleworking, and operations. Moreover, he discusses why the preparations providers are making right now aren't just to keep their business...

As HME providers in the western states prepare for the March 3-5 Medtrade Spring in Las Vegas, the American Association for Homecare is taking its regular AAHomecare Update, running March 4 from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., in a new direction with a new format and increased audience interaction. AAHomecare President and CEO Tom Ryan explains why AAHomecare decided to change things up and offers a peek at...

Providers have felt the retail imperative for years, and some have even transitioned to – or began as – entirely retail businesses. But it's not a slam dunk; there are some key things to do and assets to put in place. Faisal "RJ" Poonawala joins the podcast to talk about how his business, Spring Branch Medical Supply in Houston, Texas, made the switch to retail, the lessons he's learned, and the i...

Respiratory care is learning that there is a wide variety of patients that need help with clearing their upper respiratory system so that they can achieve better alveolar ventilation. Enter nasal high-flow therapy, which began in the hospital setting, but is now entering the home setting thanks to new HME innovations. James Gibbons of  Fisher & Paykel Healthcare  discusses how providers can offer...

Staffing presents a tricky challenge for HME providers these days: Human resources are expensive, and in a competitive marketplace with winnowing reimbursement, they need to avoid wasting their team members' talents on billing busywork. Outsourcing is one option, but a new company, Tactical Back Office , offers a unique solution that lets providers tap into lower-cost labor markets. Co-founder Tod...

Annual HME conference and expo Medtrade Spring returns to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas on March 3-5, and Show Director Mark Lind joins the HME Business Podcast to highlight some of the event's don't-miss conference sessions and expo showcases. There are some familiar favorites and some new twists at the event for HME providers in the West, so if you're thinking of going, it's wo...

The industry is working on attaching language from some key industry bills to a spending bill that must pass before Dec. 20. However, the bills need more co-sponsors, and that's where help from providers is urgently needed. Tom Ryan, the president and CEO of the American Association for Homecare , discusses the key bills in play and how HMEs can help get co-sponsors. This is a key opportunity to l...

Back in 2013, when HME providers were making tentative steps into retail sales, Wayne Slavitt decided to go all-in with his retail-only mobility and home medical equipment store  Mobül: The Mobility Store  in Long Beach, Calif. Since then, as founder and CEO, Slavitt has continued to sharpen his retail sales game. In this episode, Wayne sits down with HMEB to discuss various retail insights he's l...

This is the final installment of three special, post-Medtrade episodes. Kim Brummett, vice president of regulatory affairs for the American Association for Homecare, sheds some light on a proposed rule by HHS to loosen the regulatory prohibitions against physician self-referrals when it comes to DME. Brummett talks about what this could mean for providers and how the industry is approaching the is...