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Showcasing DME’s Retail Superstars
fully extended versus closed. Ours opens left to right, not forward to backward like most traditional rollators do. From that perspective, people can see it from their full and upright position.”
In general, if product is available, it should be on the floor for customers to see. “If you’re just storing it, it doesn’t provide any viability or any real attraction to it,” Gray adds.
In smaller pharmacies, large and extensive displays of product are not possible. But pharmacies can find ways to work with the space that they do have. If display space is possible but limited, be sure that walkers and rollators are not strapped down or elevated on a shelf. Even with smaller display space, a customer should still be able to touch and try the product.
Smaller pharmacies could also consider a video supplement when having the product open and available is not an option. “That way
if customers do miss seeing the product, they can least see it in use on the video monitor,” Gray says. (See “Dollars Per Square Foot,” for more tips for small pharmacies).
Bringing It Back to the Customer
Retail strategies are not one-size-fits-all, and whether due to limited space or limited staff, some of the suggested strategies might not be possible to implement. But as pharmacies explore
their options to find what practices work best for their business, it’s important to integrate Rob Baumhover’s three main retail pillars into their model:
• Consumer involvement to help find the right products or solutions
best for your customer’s lifestyle.
• A store brand and marketing messaging that encompasses the life
your customers live or want to live.
• A store environment, in which your customers feel comfortable,
valued and connected.
No matter the business model or size, pharmacies can go a long way in fulfilling all three pillars by having an educated staff that is knowledgeable about the HME products on the floor to engage thoughtfully with customers. As Slavitt explains, customers walk into the HME stores and usually have very little context about the products and the industry.
“They typically have never been in a medical equipment store, or they have never really had to care for an aging parent,” he says. “Customers look to us for guidance. They heavily look to us as being the experts, and they expect us to be able to answer questions
and be able to advise them based on their situation what the best product is going to be to provide the best solutions.”
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What’s Inside:
HME Leadership by the Book . . . . . 13 News, Trends & Analysis . . . . . . . . . . 8 MakinganO2‘ModelMatch’ . . . . . . . 12 Orthopedic Opportunities . . . . . . . . . 24 Retail-ReadyProducts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 9 Ways to Thrive in Tough Markets . . . 30
With Diverse Revenues and Patients, HMEs Need RCM
For large healthcare
r h g e a a n l t i hz a n t i e o t n w s o s r u k c s , h t ah s e h p o r as pc t i t i c a el s o a f n d revenue cycle management has been
a fundamental element of how they do business for years . Now, HME busi- nesses are starting to employ RCM to help them survive and thrive in a tight funding market .
Fortunately, those larger health entities have blazed some RCM trails . They have developed businesses processes and workflows, metrics that help them manage their RCM, and employed a variety of technology tools that have helped them improve efficiencies to boost revenues and margins . These are best practices that can help smooth the RCM learning curve in HME .
That said, running an HME business isn’t like running a hospital . There is a multitude of factors and challenges that are unique to the HME landscape provider owners and management must address . Moreover, how providers approach those challenges is unique, as well .
How can RCM help HME busi-
n i m e p s s l e e ms ? e H n o t i w n g s h R o C u M l d ? t Wh e h y a a t p a p r e r o t h a e c h
p a n i t d f a s l l e s r t v h i c e e y s s a h r o e u a l d v a a i v l a o b i d l e ? t Wo h h a e t l p t o o l s them? Read this month’s cover story to learn more .
Revenue Cycle
Management for HME . Page 17
May 2018 Volume 25, Number 5 hme-business.com
BLAST OFF
7 7 I I D D E E A A S S T T O O H H E E L L P P Y YO O U U R R BUSINESS TAKE FLIGHT
What’s Inside:
ManagingWinningTeams . . . . . . . . 24 News, Trends & Analysis . . . . . . . . . . 6 What’sYourHIPAARisk? . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 HMEInventory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 DreamWear’s Full-face Option . . . . . . 28 RetailHME’sFive-YearPlan . . . . . . . . . 30
A Collection of How-to Articles to Help HMEs Achieve Lift-off Welcome to the 11th edition o y e f a o r u w r e a n t n r y u t a o l H p Mr e E s e H n a t n a d n b u o m o b k e . E r a o c f h easy-to-digest articles that provide HME business owners and managers with ideas on how they can drive new revenues and drive new efficiencies . Consider these handbook a launch- pad to hit new heights .
We have published the HME Handbook since 2008, and the product has changed over the years . When we first started, the Handbook aimed to help providers prepare for significant industry changes that were on the way, such as competitive bidding, claims audits and other cuts . However, where regulatory change once represented market disruption, now providers are old hands at being pushed out of their comfort zone . Now the Handbook aims to help providers consider a shifting market- place to be familiar territory .
In this issue, we look at seven topics including accreditation, women’s health, portable oxygen, home access, professional education, and enteral nutrition . Some of the articles discuss o i d p e e n r t a i f t y i o n n e a wl e b f fiu c s i i en ne cs s i e o s , p wp ho i r l t e u on t i t h i e e s r s o r mstreattheogdys . Afolsros,htaorphenlpinygoyuoduirgbeustsitnhess information, we summarize key points and provide links to help you learn more about the topics .
2018 HME Handbook . . Page 10 June 2018
Volume 25, Number 6 hme-business.com
Rx 10 December 2018 | DME Pharmacy
hme-business.com
CYCLE MANAGEMENT
July 2018 Volume 25, Number 7
2018 BUYER’S
W W h h a at t ’ ’ s s t t h h e e r r i i g g h h t t s s t t r r a at t e e g g y y ? ? W W h h a at t t t o o o o l l s s c c a a n n h h e e l l p p? ?
GUIDE
YOUR COMPENDIUM OF RESOURCES GEARED TO HELP YOU GROW.
What’s Inside:
Effectively Using Planograms . . . . . 19 Special Portable Oxygen Section . . 22
e-PrescribingComestoHME . . . . . . . . 8 HowKPIsDriveProfitability . . . . . . . . 10 TheLatestSleepProducts . . . . . . . . . 32 Going the Distance Against Bidding . 34
E-COMMERCE WINNERS
10 HME categories that drive online sales
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As HMEs Enter e-Commerce, What Products Actually Sell?
The future is here: e-com- merce is becoming a business imperative in the HME industry, and if providers aren’t already diving in, they are making it a part of their strategic business planning .
Simply put, it’s where the customers are . According to a June 2017 Forbes article, online sales grew faster in 2016 than they had over the past three years and account for 11 .7 percent of overall retail sales . There seems to be no stopping this sea change of how customers shop and get much of their product information, and that includes home medical equipment and related products .
The question is what products not only lend themselves to e-commerce but actually sell? You can offer all sorts of products, but what are the things that will get clients to add items to their cart and enter their credit card information . To answer that question, we got some expert insight into the 10 categories of HME products that have proven themselves to be e-commerce winners, and some of those categories just might surprise you .
Additionally, we rounded up a number of product examples for each of those top 10 e-commerce catego- ries to give you a picture of the types of items you can add to your online offerings . Flip to this months’ cover story to learn more .
e-Commerce Winners . Page 11
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Special Portable Oxygen Section Inside:
• Oxygen Rental Models
• Remote Patient Monitoring
• Traveling With Oxygen
August/September 2018 Volume 25, Number 8 hme-business.com