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require a CPAP or BiPAP machine for treat- ment. HME retailers are ideally positioned to meet this need. Though many customers will want to use insurance to fund their machine, they are still open to buying the many CPAP accessory products with cash.
To this end, David Gould, co-owner of Gould’s Medical Inc., recommends that HME retailers stock these items.
“We carry all the CPAP types of things: the cleaners, the wipes for cleaning the mask, saline to make the humidifier water pure, sleep pillows. They’re all designed for people with sleep apnea,” he says. “We want to make it as easy as possible for customers who want to private pay for CPAP supplies. Sometimes patients’ deductibles are too high, or they don’t have health insurance, and they just want to buy the supplies.”
Another type of product that Gould finds popular among customers is portable travel PAPs that are easy to pack and carry for people who travel. “Travel PAPs are big these days. They’re very small, and patients who travel a lot would rather bring something smaller than their big CPAP. And they’re a cash item,” Gould adds.
COMPRESSION
Many types of customers need compression items: seniors, people with diabetes, people with various venous disorders and customers undergoing cancer treatment and wound care. Since Medicare funding and private insurance is limited for compression, most transactions for compression items are done on a retail basis, which gives HME providers a chance to increase their revenue with this product category.
At Oswald’s Pharmacy, Anderson says
that compression has been a big product category for the store, which stock four major brands and several donning and doffing hosiery accessories. “It’s been very successful,” he says. “We’re a destination for that because we carry such a wide selection and, of course, we do customs. We definitely want to be a good location with a good reputation by carrying those medical grade brands that a lot of doctors are familiar with and recommend to patients.”
Supplying the right products is only part
of making compression a successful product category, however. Anderson says that service is what really drives revenue and sets brick-and-mortar stores apart from online sellers. “These items are an investment for people. Not many people think that a pair
of thigh-high socks is going to cost $80-$90. Customers are going to have someone who is an expert hold their hand and walk them through the process,” he explains. “We have a certified fitter on staff that’s going to walk you through how to put the hosiery on, how to take care of it. It’s that level of service that you’re not going to find online or at many other stores in our area. I think that’s a key aspect that makes these items such great sellers because of my staff and how we hand- sell these products.”
PAIN MANAGEMENT
Pain management might seem out of place on a list of HME specific product categories, but many medical conditions that drive customers to HME providers come with a lot of pain.
It’s not only an essential category that meets customer’s basic needs but also a versatile category that lends itself to cross-over with others.
“Providers should strive to make their product categories complimentary of each other,” Rob Baumhover explains. “Using this strategy, a provider is leaving room for addi- tional sales and service opportunities.”
“For example,” Baumhover says, “if
a customer enters a store for a mobility product, chances are that they are experi- encing pain too. By carrying both a mobility and pain management section, a customer will not only be able to move more freely, but they will be able to avoid any soreness associ- ated with the movement they are making.”
A particular pain management item that David Gould suggests stocking is CBD, which comes in the form of oils, lotions and pills
at varying dosages. “CBD is a big item right now,” Gould says, and he’s absolutely right. Researchers at the Brightfield Group estimate that the CBD market will expand to $22 billion in just three years.
“Even people who never thought about it
“I like to
think that
we carefully
curate our
product
selection. We
want to make sure that we have the best of the best.”
— Alex Anderson,
Oswald’s Pharmacy
28 HMEBusiness | March 2019 | hme-business.com
Management Solutions | Technology | Products
MORE MUST-STOCK CATEGORIES
While not always core cash categories, these products are retail winners, as well.
SCOOTERS
Scooters can represent a sizable financial investment for customers. Like lift chairs, people feel more comfortable buying this equipment in-store rather than online. Spectrum Medical CEO Steve Ackerman says that having scooters in the store and on the floor is “time effec- tive in terms of the amount of time it takes to make a sale and have a customer try it out. You’re making money as opposed to spending that same amount of time with bath seats.”
WELLNESS AND DAILY LIVING
Frequently, a provider’s customers are not always the user of the HME equipment—some- times they are family members and caregivers of the user. “For this reason, it is valuable to offer product categories relating to this type of buyer, as they can be a new prospect
to the store. Incorporating selections around wellness or a daily living category can help broaden the offerings for this type of consumer,” Rob Baumhover, VGM Group’s director of Retail Services, says.
WOULD CARE
Depending on a provider’s location, wound care has the potential to be a successful category for HME. Oswald’s Pharmacy, for instance, is located near a hospital, and Alex Anderson says that because of their location, they can meet its patients’ wound care needs. “When you’re discharged from the hospital, they don’t give away advanced wound care, such as bandages, like they used to. People are waiting for their insurance to ship some kind of the acute need,” he advises. Would care also has the potential for crossover with other product categories, such as compression.