'Action expresses priorities'

In these challenging days of national competitive bidding pricing and widespread auditing, HME businesses can be, understandably, an insular bunch.

But there are problems in any market. And the severity of those problems typically ebb and flow, with periods of decline and regrowth.

At this year's HME News Business Summit, we're here to focus on the latter: regrowth.

To regrow, a business must take action. It can't wait for it to happen. It must make it happen.

Sometimes taking action means throwing your playbook out the window. Never think you'd outsource your billing operations to another country? Never think you'd drop-ship sleep therapy equipment and service patients remotely? For speakers Todd Usher and Joseph LaPorta, two providers, it not only made sense, it has worked.

Even pre-eminent health systems are under pressure to take action. As health care transitions from a fee-for-service to value-based model, keynote speaker Don Carroll is reshaping Cleveland Clinic's home and transitional care services to become not only a provider of specialty referral-based services, but also a manager of population health. He's writing a new playbook for connected care.

There are very few more action-oriented entities than private equity firms, and we'll have three of them represented on a panel to talk about how they're taking HME-related businesses to the next level. Less burdened by the industry's past successes and failures, these firms have no playbooks. Almost anything is fair game.

To use a lofty quote from Gandhi: “Action expresses priorities.” What actions are you taking? And what does that say about your priorities?

Come to the Summit and find out.