A Fresh Approach

Running a successful HME and attracting referral sources is challenging, but it doesn't have to be brain surgery. “I think ordering oxygen should be as easy as ordering a pizza,” says Jason Seeley, the 29-year-old vice president of Columbus, Ohio-based DASCO Home Medical Equipment.

DASCO runs its HME business on simple philosophies and a youthful spirit that have been parlayed into measurable growth. The company has seven locations throughout Ohio, and the 7,500-square-foot main office in Columbus currently is undergoing an expansion to 16,000 square feet.

The company reported more than $10 million in revenue for 2003, and Seeley says that's a 30 percent increase over sales in 2002, when the sales team he implemented began putting the young man's business strategy to work.

DASCO — Donald Anthony Seeley Company — opened in 1987 when Donald Seeley, Jason's father, bought it from Rite Aid Pharmacies' home health care division.

Jason grew up in the HME business and remembers washing wheelchairs for $2 an hour for his father. In 1987, the business was set up as a traditional HME with a variety of products and services, but since Jason and his sister Rachel assumed active roles in running the company, 80 percent of DASCO's revenue now is generated from respiratory customers. While the company also provides wheelchairs, hospital beds, diabetic supplies and aids to daily living, DASCO primarily promotes nebulizers, medications and CPAP.

To increase respiratory referrals, Jason has streamlined the oxygen-ordering process for physicians with what he calls the “Quick Script.” The simple document looks like a prescription pad that uses check boxes with essential questions that the doctor fills out and sends back.

The Quick Script is the foundation of Seeley's streamlined ordering approach and the inspiration for his oxygen-pizza comparison.

“If you go into a doctor's office and ask doctors their No. 1 complaint, they will say it's that they get 10 calls back after the initial [oxygen] order with requests for more information and additional forms to be filled out,” Jason says. “That's our value proposition [to physicians]: We will not bug you after you send us the referral. We go to extreme measures to never call that doctor back.” These measures include calling the patient, rather than the doctor, for additional information and ensuring the initial visit between the doctor and the sales rep is as thorough as possible.