Is there a market for DME/HME providers with Telemedicine?

Is there a market for DME/HME providers with Telemedicine? As CMS is seeking new means of reducing the cost of providing care, they are looking at telemedicine as a major break through. CMS envisions that it would reduce unnecessary hospitalization by allowing patients to be monitored regularly. It could possibly reduce trips to the ER or being admitted to an institution by 50%.

I prefer to call this service home tele-health!  It can also be referred to as Remote Home Patient Monitoring. I sent a blog in mid-summer and asked for some feedback. I only received a few answers and they were all acknowledged. I will ask once again, because it is an opportunity for your company to become the center of activity for good health care in your community.

Think about the role of the visiting nurse, a trip to an office, or any other technique used for checking a patient’s vital signs. As the middleman between the patient and the practitioner, your company can provide this service.

A brief description of home tele-health is the patient can sit down at home and send their vital signs instantly to their physician or nurse. You provide a BP Cuff, spirometer, scale, blood glucose monitor, oximeter, EKG and the other equipment required. The patient by themselves, or with the aid of a family caregiver, can affix the equipment and instantly forward their reports STAT via telephone or the web to have them monitored by their professional caregivers. The nurse or physician can then question anything that appears to be abnormal. The fees for these services are nominal, but they add up to many dollars in savings.

Are you interested in looking at this opportunity for your company?  Any changes you wish to make, whether for home tele-health or any other program always requires being investigated. Please send an e-mail (shelly.prial@att.net) or call me (321-255-3885). Do not allow this to go elsewhere. I am positive that bringing this service to your community will be a profitable one!

Do It Now! Part One

When we returned from our vacation we found two weeks mail and two weeks newspapers all waiting to be reviewed. For a very pleasant change, rather than the usual “gloom an doom” reports, the mail we received was actually all upbeat. It appears that the recession is starting to melt away. Many new jobs were found, stock values rose and there was a small increase in jobs. Despite the cost of gasoline rising, people have started to shop and go out for dinner and entertainment.

I read through all the financial articles and I have three words to say; “Do It Now.” While the economy is beginning its rebirth, so must you.

Many DME/HME principals have spoken with me about hiring another outside person. Yes, do it now. Stop by your local college and request them to send you a few students to interview. You are offering an entrance level job where they will be learning a new industry and building a career. This is a job with a bright future. As your new employee absorbs knowledge your sales will grow and so will their salary.

I have been preaching this hiring and training program and invariably it been one of the most successful accomplishments of many entrepreneurs.

Since Medtrade is very close get that new hire on board ASAP.  A big part of their education is to make them even more successful. You will assign the seminars they should attend and they will accompany you as you negotiate programs with the exhibitors. This is a fantastic opportunity for your new salesperson.

Now, before costs start rising again, you will be able to increase your business dramatically. As others are waiting for the economy to become “better”, you will actually be making giant steps forward. There will be expanding volume and profit for your company. DO IT NOW! 

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Investing in future technologies: Home Telehealth

There are many opportunities available to a DME/HME provider. Like anything new, these openings must be investigated and must be determined if your company is able to make an investment in a new challenge.

At previous Medtrade Exhibitions there were speakers who explained the importance of Home Telehealth and how it should be marketed. The future for the health care industry may very well be based on how much of an effect Home Telehealth or Remote Home Patient Monitoring can be for DME/HME providers. Today is the time to get on the bandwagon.

Much of your volume emanates by referrals from physicians, nurses, technicians, therapists and home health providers. A solid base of your company has always been patients, senior citizens and family caregivers. Home Telehealth will put your company right is the center for them.

A very brief description is that the patient can sit down at their Home Telehealth station and send their vital signs instantly to their physician and other members of their healthcare team (like the supplier or family caregiver). The patient is able use their BP cuff, spirometer, scale, and blood glucose monitor, oximeter, EKG and other equipment currently available. By themselves or with the aid of family caregivers, they can affix the equipment and in seconds the reports are forwarded STAT and monitored.  Remote Home Patient Monitoring and Telehealth eliminates the need for hand-written and self-documented log books, which are not always maintained the way a physician needs to treat their patient.  The healthcare team can have real-time, on-demand data to notice trends and early warning signs more efficiently than ever before.

 

You should contact some of the Home Telehealth manufacturers to see if your company can become the local distributor. This equipment can be rented or purchased outright. This can be very exciting for you and set your business apart from your competitors.  Referral sources are looking for providers who are ahead of the game and providing the best for their patients.

Medtrade is currently working to develop a special section of the showroom floor for Home Telehealth.

Don’t miss the opportunity that Home Telehealth offers. Don’t put it off for tomorrow, take the first step now and see how you can become the provider of Home Telehealth in your market. If you don’t your competition will!