Moving Forward and Making Sense

Oxygen therapy, one of the strongholds of the home medical equipment industry, is moving forward at a new speed. Changing patient demographics, decreasing reimbursement rates and an increasing need for more efficient products have prompted manufacturers to drive new technology to a different level. The result: healthier patients and more profitable providers.

In 2001, more than 13 million adults in the United States were diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to the American Lung Association. However, experts say that number could be much higher, with estimates ranging from 24 million to 35 million individuals affected. Organizations such as the ALA and the American College of Chest Physicians have initiated educational programs that encourage family physicians to diagnose COPD earlier so treatment can begin sooner. Although there is no cure for the disease, treatment can improve patients' quality of life by enabling them to increase their activity levels.

“The trend is that people are getting diagnosed earlier with COPD,” says Thomas Williams, managing director of Strategic Dynamics Inc. “As a result of being treated earlier, they are generally more active and ambulatory.”

Patients who are diagnosed at a younger age present opportunities and challenges to the oxygen market.

“The demographics [of patients requiring oxygen therapy] are changing. They are living longer and baby boomers are now reaching an age where they're starting to go on oxygen, and that is only going to increase,” says Kathy Odell, CEO of Inogen. “The people who have grown up with cell phones and Palm Pilots and computers are going to demand more of their health care technology, so that's going to challenge all of us to keep coming up with better products.”

And better products will produce a better quality of life for these patients.

“Correlating the aging baby boomer generation with predicted increases in the home care market is a big focus for health care marketers everywhere right now,” says Carla Laureano, marketing manager for CHAD Therapeutics. “I think we are seeing a trend in early detection of COPD and other lung diseases and a decrease in the stigma attached to oxygen users. This generation of COPD patients will be much more comfortable with technology than their predecessors, paving the way for some exciting products.”