Page 22 - HME Business, May/June 2020

2020 HME BUSINESS HANDBOOK
OXYGEN
HOW TO
EXPAND YOUR
OXYGEN CARE
AND BUSINESS
PERFORMANCE
O xygen providers services and equipment, find themselves
in unique circumstances. They must provide care to long-term oxygen therapy patients during a public health emergency.
Then again, respiratory providers have always found themselves in “interesting” circumstances. They had to respond to the 36-month rental cap. They had to respond to competi- tive bidding. They had to respond
to audits. And while each of these instances hit their funding, each time they’ve deftly adapted.
One thing is clear: even without COVID-19 increasing the need for home oxygen, other disease states
that have been served by respiratory providers aren’t going anywhere. In fact, they’re increasing. The total cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is expected to grow rapidly in the United States and major European countries over the next decade, according to an analysis by analytics company GlobalData.
In the report, “Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Epidemiology Forecast to 2028,” the firm esti- mated that COPD cases in seven major markets — including the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain and Japan — will go from 59.3 million in 2018 to 67.2 million in 2028.
The highest number of COPD patients will be located in the United States, where the amount of cases is expected to grow from 26.6 million to 31.1 million over the course of a decade.
In 2019, ResMed reported that it alone has 10 million users of its cloud-connected devices and it had a database of 4.5 billion nights monitored.
Now remote patient monitoring is starting to find its way into oxygen. The first forays into remote POC monitoring came with devices
that were largely founded on the concept of fleet management: providers would remotely monitor POCs to ensure they were being used and that they were functioning properly. Moreover, depending
on the situation, providers could remotely diagnose problems.
That soon gave way to the notion of monitoring usage data and now we’re seeing some oxygen equip- ment also monitor clinical data. HME providers could become cham- pions to both their referral partners and patients, and would benefit from an ever-growing reputation for effectiveness and forward-thinking care that produces results in an outcomes-oriented care environ- ment. That’s a hard value proposi- tion to ignore.
DON’T IGNORE RETAIL
Providers of portable oxygen systems must look beyond the funded market. Medicare and some private payer are clearly important, but the retail market for portable oxygen cannot be ignored — particularly the online market. Type “portable oxygen concentrator” into Google. The results will show
a thriving marketplace — a market- place that most providers currently do not serve.
Retail represents a massive opportunity to providers. It is where customers go when providers don’t give them what they want. This is
particularly true of the Baby Boom. The massive demand for POCs and similar devices should clearly
demonstrate that there is a huge population of underserved patients looking for — and buying — those types of systems. Moreover, even
if some of those online buyers are already receiving tanks, that should make providers wonder two things: how much wasted cost is built into the business, and on how much retail or funded revenue did they fail to capitalize?
Obviously, selling on a retail
basis can be difficult for Medicare providers. They need to have
new business infrastructure, they must adhere to a number of legal requirements under Medicare,
and the guidelines can sometimes be confusing. Moreover, many providers interested in retail will
set up entirely separate busi- nesses in order to serve a retail customer base (and even then there are specific Medicare guidelines regarding referrals between the two businesses, and similar issues) that providers must contend with.
ADOPT CARETAILING
Don’t forget that even with funded patients, there is retail busi- ness to realize. For instance, COPD patients using portable oxygen concentrators are mobile, so think about the items that will help them stay mobile. Extended-life batteries and additional batteries, as well as additional chargers, help users stay out of the home longer and even travel to visit their families. Likewise, backpacks, shoulder bags and straps are a great way to ensure that POC users can keep both hands free and almost forget that they’re using an oxygen device. ■
THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX
There is a market for long-term oxygen therapy beyond Medicare. For instance, there is an increased need for clinical services in the skilled care setting like a hospital or skilled facility.
There are providers getting creative and creating models for value-based purchasing and alterna- tive payment methods with private payers and non-traditional funding sources. They’re marketing to commercial plans and showing what outcomes are possible and actually creating that model for an insurance company and payer.
And in working with private payer funding sources and similar enti- ties, it’s important to note that the territory will still seem somewhat familiar, because most payers look to CMS as a guideline. The majority of third-party payers follow the Medicare template for coverage, and rentals are most common.
DIFFERENTIATE VIA RPM
A growing way for oxygen to make themselves stand apart to referral partners and payers is remote patient monitoring (RPM). For years now, PAP devices have been monitoring patient perfor- mance and feeding that data back to care management systems that physicians can use to see unique health events and tweak care. Those devices can also connect with personal apps that patients use to better manage their care.
Use of remote patient moni- toring in sleep has exploded and is poised for more growth. In 2015 market research firm Berg Insight reported the global number of remotely monitored patients grew by 51 percent to 4.9 million.
still come up with ways to develop new revenues when the funding might not be there.
22 HMEBusiness | May/June 2020 | hme-business.com
Management Solutions | Technology | Products
POINTS TO REMEMBER
larly true of Baby Boom clients who are willing • Even during a pandemic, oxygen providers must to pay for the exact solution they want or need
and drive increased efficiencies.
• The market for their services keeps growing.
The number of U.S. COPD patients is expected to grow from 26.6 million to 31.1 million over the course of a decade.
• Providers need to get creative with their funding. Are you reaching out to private payer insurance? Health plans? Facilities such as SNFs? Why not?
• The retail market is still very much an important opportunity for oxygen devices. This is particu-
• Even if your oxygen business is mainly funded, you should still pursue a caretailing blend of funded oxygen equipment and retail accessories and upgrades.
LEARN MORE
To stay on top of key portable oxygen technology trends, make sure to follow our Oxygen Solutions Center at hme-business.com/microsites/oxygen.