Business Development

Because COVID-19 is a virus that attacks the body’s respiratory system, it has put home medical equipment providers on the front line for fighting the pandemic. Manufacturers from across the respiratory spectrum are responding to this crisis by furnishing the equipment needed to assist those afflicted with the virulent pathogen, contributing to a joint effort with HME providers. “COVID has caused an uptick in home oxygen equipment overall,” said Doug Francis, president and...

PRINCETON, N.J. - Parachute Health recently launched an end-to-end ordering solution to help HME providers and their referral sources ease into e-prescribing. The solution still allows the use of fax machines, but everything is centralized in a digital intake platform. “If a fax order needs to be fixed, it gets sent back digitally through the platform,” said Brandon Zaharoff, vice president of strategy, marketing and data for Parachute Health. “Then the provider gets a fax or email...

Urologicals are a surprisingly versatile market segment that marry rewarding work, cross-over sales and technological advancements. Not bad for a market that has a reputation for being a strictly commodity business in the HME industry, vendors say. John Anderson, CEO of Newport Beach, Calif.-based Cure Medical, is very upbeat about urologicals and the progress being made with respect to new products. “It is an extremely rewarding market - I have one customer who cried with joy because she was...

The financial forecast for the orthotics and prosthetics market continues to be bullish, driven by increasing demand, product innovations and technological advancements. In a new market outlook report from Grand View Research, the global O&P market size is listed at $9.2 billion and is expected to exhibit a compound annual growth rate of 4.6% from 2020 to 2027. Researchers cite “increasing incidence of sports injuries and road accidents, rising number of diabetes-related amputations and the...

Depending on who you ask, the COVID-19 influence is either helping, hindering, or having no impact on demand for home accessibility services. The virus pandemic has had the biggest impact on the HME industry's elderly clients, who have comprised the majority of deaths and hospitalizations since it first appeared in February. As a result, seniors are concerned about their vulnerability and are spending the majority of their time in seclusion at home. With elderly clients aging in place and in need...

For an industry in need of a retail product that fits within any of the HME major categories, CBD certainly seems to fit the bill. As a therapeutic product with potential benefits for a litany of conditions, CBD can effectively be marketed and merchandised for virtually every HME customer, specialists in the field say.CBD—known as cannabidiol—is a non-intoxicating cannabinoid found in cannabis. On the market for retail sale since being legalized in the Agricultural Improvement Act of...

The sleep therapy market continues to evolve with enhanced clinical awareness, better CPAP system technology and deeper understanding of obstructive sleep apnea and related disorders. The key to progress in efficacy and positive outcomes, sleep specialists say, remains patient compliance. The more patients who commit to using CPAP, the more benefits the industry generates.CPAP compliance has been the focus of various studies over the years and sleep clinicians like Angela Giudice review the data...

The “social distancing” practice brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic presents HME providers with an opportunity to step out of their comfort zone and demonstrate how information technology can play a huge role in remote patient care. By strategically using their capabilities for telehealth, remote monitoring and coordinating with other professionals in the health care continuum, HME providers can assert themselves as valid partners in patient care, IT specialists say.“The HME industry...

Medicare reimbursement in the diabetes market has constantly slid downward, thwarting even meager margins on diabetic products.If HME providers have a future in the category, it may depend on their commitment to selling products for cash. As manufacturers point out, retail products relevant for diabetes patients can also pertain to patients for other therapies and services.Diabetes-specific items have historically included orthotic shoes and inserts, compression hosiery, blood glucose monitors and...

Strong demand for heavier-duty home medical products has made the bariatric category one of HME's biggest growth areas over the past decade. And manufacturers in the field say that obesity rates continue to be stubborn within the American population, so the necessity of producing bariatric versions remains vital.Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2017 show trends of public weight gain for people age 20 and older 10% higher over a 17-year period from 1999 to 2016. In 1999,...