Las Vegas

Like their peers in the HME industry, independent retail pharmacies are looking for ways to shelter themselves from the coming Medicare-reform storm, and many of them see HME as the perfect umbrella, according to attendees at Cardinal Healthcare's 13th annual Retail Business Conference, which took place July 21-25.

Consequently, Cardinal is making HME a focal point of its program for retail pharmacists. “There are so many reasons why [HME] makes perfect sense for retail pharmacy today … the demographics, the margins, the need for convenience for consumers — and there are no more excuses for retailers not to [add HME],” said Betty Butler, director of customer and business development for Cardinal. “With our solutions that will meet the challenges of limited space and lack of product knowledge, [and achieve] effective marketing and reimbursements, any retailer can succeed.”

Pharmacies' increased focus on HME is not a surprise to William Popomaronis, director of pharmacy specialty services for the Alexandria, Va.-based National Community Pharmacist Association, which represents owners of nearly 24,000 pharmacies. “NCPA is training a new generation of pharmacists on entry into the home health care market,” he told HomeCare. In fact, the association is sponsoring a convention Oct. 18-22 in Seattle that will include courses designed to teach retail pharmacists the basics of HME — from billing to BIPA.

In all, more than 1,650 pharmacies sent representatives to the Cardinal event, and retail pharmacists were among the most enthusiastic attendees at HME-related conferences, according to Louis Feuer, president of Pembroke Pines, Fla.-based Dynamic Seminars and Consulting. Close to 200 people showed up for a conference Feuer taught about marketing home care products, despite the fact that the conference overlapped the lunch hour.

“There is definitely an interest [among independent retail pharmacists] in marketing HME products, and there is interest in taking this one step further — or they wouldn't have been there,” Feuer said. “The topic was the draw.”

One thing is sure, Feuer continued: “The [HME] dealer needs to see there's going to be an expansion of home care.”

For breaking news, go to www.homecaremonday.com, the electronic news service of the home medical equipment industry.