Medtrade Show Daily

ATLANTA - As a Medtrade veteran, Bruce Gehring knows the ins and outs of revenue cycles—both in and out of pandemics. HME News caught up with Gehring, senior vice president of business development at Allegiance Group, who will be co-hosting two sessions in Atlanta, about how COVID-19 changed, and is still shaping, billing and collection.    HME News: How has the pandemic impacted workflow processes and procedures?    Bruce Gehring: The interesting thing we saw from...

ATLANTA – With pandemic-induced virtual meetings dominating the past year-and-a-half, Medtrade East exhibitors are greatly looking forward to seeing “live” visitors at their booths during the trade show, Oct. 18-20 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.  “Even though our industry has done a tremendous job expanding our use of digital communications, , there is nothing that can replace in-person networking and the conversations that are held on the expo hall...

The HME industry’s largest trade show has been rebranded as Medtrade East to reflect geography instead of the time of year it is held. Following the July premier of Medtrade West in Phoenix, Medtrade East at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta Oct. 18-20 is being presented as a regional contrast rather than the previous emphasis on spring and fall.  “Many people unofficially called the Atlanta show ‘Medtrade East’,” show director York Schwab said about...

In keeping with the ongoing challenges caused by COVID-19 and its variants, the Medtrade East Education Advisory Board has included several seminars that deal with the virus-related issues providers are facing for the Oct. 18-20 educational sessions at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.  “Several of the programs we selected deal directly with COVID,” said EAB member Jeff Baird. “Other programs we selected focus on what we believe the key issues will be for suppliers...

ATLANTA - Pandemic or no pandemic, work from home is here to stay, which makes tracking productivity even more vital for providers to manage operations. HME News recently spoke to Medtrade East speakers, Jas Pannu, vice president of product management at Brightree, and Fadi Haddad, director of data and analytics at the company, about why productivity tracking matters and what to consider going forward.   HME News: What's the role of analytics and KPIs in tracking productivity?  Jas...

ATLANTA - The HME industry is changing, but there are opportunities out there if you know where to look, say attendees and exhibitors at this year's Medtrade.The show drew 80 new exhibitors—about 70 of which were brand new and another 10 making a return after a long absence, says Mark Lind, associate group show director, healthcare.“That's a good sign,” he said. “Folks are seeing that the HME industry is alive and vibrant.”While final numbers weren't available at press...

ATLANTA - A bill could be introduced literally any day now to pump the brakes on CMS's plans to include non-invasive ventilation in its competitive bidding program, AAHomecare's Jay Witter told Medtrade attendees on Tuesday morning.The bill would delay the inclusion of non-invasive vents in the program for five years—or two rounds of bidding—and would require the creation of an expert panel to create a “good medical policy” for the product category, said Witter, senior vice...

ATLANTA - As clinicians, respiratory therapists are more focused on patient care than profitability, but it doesn't have to be one or the other, said speaker Dave Lyman.It's possible to build a strong complex respiratory program for invasive, non-invasive and multi-function ventilators that improves outcomes, that demonstrates the provider's value to payers and referral sources—and that pays, he told Medtrade attendees at a session Monday.“How do you measure outcomes; how are you using...

ATLANTA - With most security breaches affecting small- and medium-sized businesses—not the Targets of the world—HME providers can't afford not to prioritize cybersecurity, said speaker Carol Albaugh.Providers are doing business in an environment where health care recently surpassed finance as the industry most targeted by hackers, said Albaugh, a technical solutions consultant at VGM.“It's so rich in the kind of data that hackers are looking to sell on the black market,” she...

ATLANTA - Wendy Russalesi, chief compliance officer for AdaptHealth, has been named 2019 Woman of the Year.Russalesi, who has worked in the HME industry for more than 20 years, received the VGM-sponsored award before the AAHomecare Washington Update on Tuesday morning.Russalesi plays an integral role in the strategic direction, implementation and oversight of AdaptHealth's corporate compliance programs and ensures the provider meets compliance requirements on the local, state and federal level. AdaptHealth,...