NEMED Publishes Manual on HME Industry New Bedford, Mass. Looking for a tool that will help explain the home medical equipment industry to lawmakers, managed care organizations or even new employees? The New England Medical Equipment Dealers Association may have just what you need.

The group of about 100 HME providers from the six New England states-Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Maine-has published Industry Overview: Home Medical Equipment and Re/hab Technology, a manual of about 40 pages that tells what it takes to operate an HME business.

"It describes the products and services that are offered in respiratory, durable medical equipment, rehab, assistive technology and infusion therapy," said Karyn Estrella, NEMED executive director.

The manual, arranged in a loose-leaf binder with tabs, also provides a brief history of the industry and the marketplace, the cost of doing business, the challenges faced by HME providers, position papers on key issues by industry associations, supplier standards for Medicare and the code of ethics. It even illustrates how the dollars are dispersed and what a provider's bottom line really looks like, Estrella said. "It shows how much of a service industry we are," she said.

The book, which took about a year to produce, grew out of the need of NEMED members for such a tool, according to Estrella. "We felt it had a place in the industry and that it needed to be done," she said, adding that the organization worked on the project with representatives of the Med Group, the Health Industry Distributors Association home care division, the Home Care Coalition and the National Association for Medical Equipment Services.

NEMED has sent copies of the manual to state associations in hopes they will share it with their boards. "We definitely want to share it with everyone," Estrella said. "It's for anyone who wants to give someone information on how the industry works and the challenges we face." Already, she said, some providers are using it to help negotiate managed care contracts, to lobby congressional members and even to train new employees.

Copies of the manual are $39.95 (a bulk rate is available). For more information, contact Estrella at 508/993-0700 or e-mail her at nemed1988@aol.com.

NCAMES Taps Ford As New President Cary, N.C. Richard Ford is the new president of the North Carolina Association for Medical Equipment Services. Also serving for the year 2000 are Mary Lou Fleming, president-elect; Mary Jo Thomas, secretary; Melody Boyette, treasurer; Clark Robichaux and Teresa Gregory, board members at large; Kathy Rausch and Robbie Smith, at-large associates; and Wayne Link, immediate past president. Beth Bowen continues as executive director.-S.H.