Page 20 - HME Business, May 2019

“Accessories may seem minor in nature, however these high-margin generators can really add up to a solid, profitable business line for DMEs.”
— Frank Lazzaro, Philips
Know your patients: HME/DME providers
have the unique opportunity to move along the continuum of care. They can, in fact, be both a post-acute and a pre-acute company by not only helping to reduce readmissions to the hospital, but also prevent an admission from occurring in the first place. – CM
Know the choices: Operational efficiency for a DME that provides oxygen has never been more important. The DME must consider all aspects of providing therapy to their patient set and choose what is most appropriate. First, they must deter- mine the specific portable needs of the patient and determine which mode will be best to serve them both clinically and economically. POCs should be strongly considered for most patients that require ambulatory oxygen as merely one or two deliveries per month may cause a DME to be unprofitable with that patient. – HO
Sometimes, time is on your side: Do not consider a “one size fits all” method when putting together a process for oxygen patients, or assume it will be the only system patients will ever need. The disease states advance and will require adjustments to keep costs in line. As patients get worse, less expensive modalities could satisfy their needs as they become less ambulatory. – DP & AS
Help patients stay home: We all recognize that the Home is the care setting of the future. By working together — the manufacturer, distrib- utor, and provider — we can help patients age in place and manage their chronic disease states from the comfort of their homes. – CM
EDUCATE YOUR PATIENTS
Build trust: DMEs have the trust of their patients. Building that trust is by far the most important piece to setting yourself apart from the others. With our remote monitoring capabili- ties, patients and DMEs alike can feel the safety of being able to identify at-risk situations with their therapy. – HO
Anticipate questions: If there’s one component I would reiterate over and over would be under-
standing that patients are much more involved in their health care than in years past. Educate patients on their oxygen therapy. – HO
Know the pros and cons: Ensuring that patients have access to the newest care options, as well as making sure the DME is educating them
on those options. It is just as important to be top-of-mind for the patient, which is why having more than one touchpoint is crucial. Send them emails, include leaflets in their resupply orders – always be the source they come to for their DME needs. – HO
Get to know the family: One thing that always surprises me about the DME space is the “after- thought” of marketing efforts. When you think about how much control and resources patients have when it comes to their therapy and overall health care, it’s more important than ever to build and maintain a relationship with that individual, or even their caregiver. Caregivers are the sweet spot for the Oxygen business. In most cases, caregivers are the adult children of parents with COPD and rely heavily on the Internet to educate themselves on what the best treatment for their parent. Knowing that the patient is the final deci- sion maker, caregivers have a lot of weight in the decision journey. – HO
Save patients money: Drive recommends evaluating the continuous flow patients for conservers. Continuous flow modalities drive up trips and have the potential to reduce patient ambulation times. – DP & AS
Stay on top of resupplies: DMEs have such an advantage of knowing when a patient is ready for re-supply or to upgrade their current device. – HO
REACH OUT TO REFERRERS
Know your patients: Marketing to existing patients is undeniably the most important thing a DME can do. Without proper activation, it
is guaranteed they will find another source to purchase their oxygen, asthma or sleep therapy devices. If you consider all of the information
a DME already has on the patient, the cost of acquisition is very low and is an easy way to show
ROI-positive results. – HO
Show your stuff: Delivering value-based outcomes are what referral sources and payers care about. Providers should engage their referral partners with cutting-edge products designed to deliver the highest quality of life for the home care patient and position them- selves as the authority for respiratory supplies and equipment in their local community. – CM
Get social: For small businesses in the health space, word-of-mouth referrals are more impor- tant than ever. Do you have a website? Facebook? Does your website (or social presence) have reviews of your exceptional customer service? Most consumers will look for not only product reviews, but reviews on that business. – HO
Paper your patients: Get in front of your patients or caregivers before they go online. If you are filling an order, include a brochure or postcard into the package. Make it a point to bring up in any conversation you have with the patient or caregiver about the latest and greatest technology and why it is a benefit to them. – HO
Email blasts: I work with our DMEs to think outside their comfort zone – are you capturing an email address? If yes, how often are you getting in to their inbox? What are you doing
to keep your loyal customers from going to
a competitor or buying online? While there
is an investment to implement a more robust marketing campaign, the return is invaluable and keeps you ahead of your competitors. – HO
TANKS A LOT
Fill your own tanks: If you are doing tanks. I would seriously look into filling your own. When you are buying tanks from an oxygen supplier, it’s like eating out every night. When you fill your own it’s like cooking in, so you get better food and it’s cheaper. Just like setting up a kitchen, if you’re setting up filling tanks there are a couple of things you will have to buy up front, but the kitchen overall, but the tank-filling costs will go way down. – VM
Fill other providers’ tanks: We have a lot of clients that are filling. You can expand your busi- ness a little bit, depending on the makeup of your city and who’s around you. There’s some people who buy the tank filling system for them- selves and then they fill for their ‘competition’ down the street. It’s another way for them to make some money. – VM
Holly Wagner is a freelance writer covering a variety of industries, including healthcare.
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