Aids to daily living are not the sexy, big-ticket items in the home medical equipment industry. But don't overlook HME's plain Jane products. ADL products do have the potential of becoming significant revenue streams for HME providers, manufacturers say, and that's especially true if you consider current demographic trends.

“The market is going to be gargantuan for a number of reasons,” says Dan Russo, vice president of sales and marketing at Danmar Products. “We have just now entered what we call here ‘the gray zone’. The senior market, or in this case, the senior population in general, is the majority of our population. And many of these individuals use one or another type of ADL, be it a grabber, a reacher, something that helps them pull socks on, an eating device or a device in the bathroom. So this market is vast, and it's going to grow tremendously.”

In addition to living longer, manufacturers point out that the elderly are becoming increasingly independent and do not want to be stuck in nursing homes. Many are opting instead to take care of themselves in their own homes. Also, they tend to have more disposable income and are often willing to pay cash for items such as ADL products that enable them to maintain their independence.

There is a challenge to the market, however. Aids to daily living are not always the easiest sell, largely because Medicare and insurance companies do not reimburse for such products. The challenge to HME providers, therefore, is to find ways to generate cash retail sales from ADL products — and manufacturers are generally willing to help them out.

“What we've been focusing on is attractive retail packaging,” says Paul Higgs, president of Millenia Medical. “When somebody walks into an HME provider's store, perhaps to buy a wheelchair or fill up their oxygen tank, they see these products displayed … and it increases their awareness that these products are available.”

Higgs advises displaying ADL products so they attract attention. [Aids to daily living] can't be something you put in a drawer and expect the consumers to come in and ask for,” he says. “You have to have it out in your store, well merchandised, and educate the consumers that these products are available.”

Additional information about ADL products can be found in HomeCare's February 2001 issue. Just log on to www.homecaremag.com and pull up the back issue archive.

Service is King

AS A NON-REIMBURSABLE cash retail item, aids to daily living can be sold through a wide range of retail sources, such as chain drug stores and catalogs. Since consumers with some medical condition primarily use these products, home medical equipment providers can differentiate themselves from the competition by utilizing their expertise to provide the service that the others cannot, experts say.

“The dealers have to work on their strengths, and their strengths are product knowledge, education and service,” says Paul Higgs, president of Millenia Medical. “They can offer the proper education and service on these types of products to the patients who need them. If you go to a drug store chain, you're not going to get the personal attention that many of these products require. For example, how to use a shower seat properly — they might have questions on assembly or proper use. These kinds of questions can usually only be answered by an HME provider.”

Spreading the Word

AIDS TO DAILY LIVING simply do not get the same attention that the other, more prominent home medical equipment devices get. The resulting lack of awareness among customers poses a challenge to HME providers and manufacturers.

“Probably our Number One issue is awareness, educating consumers that these products are available and on the market,” says Paul Higgs, president of Millenia Medical. “Many consumers might not have known that there's a shower seat with arms or various types of ADL products that can enhance their lives. So consumer education is probably our Number One area of emphasis.”

Some manufacturers have taken their efforts to build awareness directly to medical professionals, such as therapists, informing them about the latest developments in ADL products.

“The therapists play a huge role in [aids to daily living],” says John Lescher, marketing manager of personal care products at Invacare. “Occupational therapists will recommend your bath safety products, dressing products and reachers, and your physical therapists will do the same with other ADL [products]. But when somebody who's disabled is in the [occupational therapy] or the [physical therapy] facility and they're being trained on that product, whether it's a shower chair, a transfer bench or a spoon, they want to leave that outpatient facility and go home with that same product they've been trained on. So yes, therapists play a huge role.”

Signing on to Online ADL Sales

Despite the implosion of the dotcom industry during the past year, e-commerce continues to thrive as a hot topic of interest and will continue to do so well into the future, experts say. While the debate rages on about how e-commerce fits into the home medical equipment industry, most manufacturers tend to agree that sales of aids to daily living over the Internet is a viable option for HME providers.

“As far as sales of an ADL product, more people obviously would be more apt to purchase a product like that over the Internet than a wheelchair or something they need to get fitted in,” says John Lescher, marketing manager of personal care products at Invacare. “As long as the specs are all there on the Internet, like a height adjustment on a shower chair or transfer bench, a consumer or a provider can pretty much judge from that angle what they need. So yes, I see providers setting themselves up on the Internet, and I can see that just progressing in the future.”

Other manufacturers, however, still have their doubts about the role of e-commerce.

“It's still early to make any judgment calls on the Internet,” says Manuel Cohen, director of marketing at Unicare Medical. “It's a good vehicle and it's great for information, but it's … still in the early stages. So I don't see much of that happening, but it will happen in time.”

Experts Interviewed: Manuel Cohen, director of marketing, Unicare Medical, Toronto, Canada; Paul Higgs, president, Millenia Medical, Flanders, N.J.; Jeff Laravie, plant manager and sales manager, No Rinse Laboratories, Centerville, Ohio; John Lescher, marketing manager of personal care products, Invacare, Elyria, Ohio; Dan Russo, vice president of sales and marketing, Danmar Products, Ann Arbor, Mich.; and Charles Silkwood, general manager, Maddak, Pequannock, N.J.

To follow up with these companies, check out the complete listing in HomeCare's annual Buyers' Guide.