Seeing the Need to Recondition Equipment WHEN THE RESPIRATORY cuts came into play more than two years ago, the president of Greene Respiratory Services decided he needed to start listening to the vice president of sales and marketing for Anderson Medical Equipment. The conversation might have been something to behold, since both positions at the Cincinnati-based businesses are held by the same man, Ford C. Greene.

"We've been cut so much, you've got to grasp at everything," Greene says of the value of the pre-owned equipment market. At Anderson Medical Equipment, he has been selling reconditioned merchandise to hospitals for years. But the 35 to 45 percent savings on pre-owned equipment didn't seem to interest most home medical equipment providers-including his own Greene Respiratory Services-until the reimbursement cuts began snipping away at profits.

"If people want to remain competitive, it's not going to have to be their sole source of revenue, but it will have to be a big part of their business," Greene says.

A doubting Thomas might be inclined to think that's the statement of a man who could benefit from selling providers pre-owned merchandise. But listen to the Greene who is a certified respiratory therapist and owner of an 8-year-old HME company with 12 employees: "We have respiratory therapists who do everything, and we see our patients frequently. Since turning to reconditioned equipment, we have been able to hold off on cutting back any services.

"I was amazed at the savings that could be made in this arena," Greene continues. "Not only is it a good service, but it can also save customers a good amount of money."

Embracing the sale of pre-owned equipment saves the provider and the consumer money, since Greene Respiratory passes the savings onto its customers, Greene reports. "We have a certain profit margin we would like to attain, so our profit margin will range up and down over time," he says. "But customers who stay with us understand this."

Advancements in the durability of the original equipment coupled with increasingly sophisticated reconditioning techniques mean that the pre-owned products "will be around for another long run," says Greene. For example, a concentrator that will run for 35,000 hours the first time around can be expected to run for another 30,000 hours if it is completely overhauled, he says. According to Greene, the rejuvenation process costs about 60 percent of what a new product would.

If people are astute at understanding their businesses and their dollar savings, they won't need convincing, he says. They will quickly see the "value of incorporating reconditioned merchandise into their HME business."

That's spoken like a businessman who is truly used to seeing both sides of the equation. HC