Listening to It Can Build Your Business

YOU MIGHT NOT know it yet, but a powerful voice is emerging — and it will have a major impact on your business. It's a mother's voice, a husband's voice, a voice that is, according to industry statistics, 25 million strong. It is the voice of caregivers all across the country — and as the population grows older and lives longer, that voice will grow stronger.

What you do when a daughter walks into your home medical equipment store and needs advice on the best type of walker or portable oxygen system for her mother can affect not only that sale but your business future. According to statistics just released by The Caregivers Advisory Panel in Charlestown, R.I., these 25 million caregivers are powerful buyers — 96 percent say they influence the purchase of health care products for their loved ones. What's more, 79 percent of caregivers make the actual purchase (see the related news story on Page 28).

Given these compelling stats, the caregiver — not just the discharge planner or the health maintenance organization — is your direct link to the patient. I'm convinced that caregivers are a big piece of the HME puzzle. To miss their significance is to miss a personal opportunity (after all, quality patient care is the reason most providers got into this profession in the first place) as well as a business opportunity.

No one is better positioned than the provider to offer product recommendations and health care information. And, because the majority of these caregivers are employed outside the home and are short on time and energy, anything you can do to ease their burden will stand you in good stead and secure a long-term relationship.

However, according to the TCAP survey, only one in nine caregivers is likely to turn to an HME store for practical information on caregiving. That 11 percent compares with 31 percent who depend on home health professionals for such services and 42 percent who seek that information from physicians. There is ample opportunity here for savvy HME providers to gain a bigger piece of that pie.

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I am not the only one taking notice of this powerful group. Washington is starting to pay attention — in November, Congress passed the Family Caregiver Support Program giving caregivers access to such services as counseling, respite care and referral sources.

Other legislation, including a bill that would allow reimbursement on lift and transfer products to benefit caregivers, is in the works. This is especially good news because, according to the House Select Committee on Aging, 16 percent of caregivers indicate that their health has worsened since they've taken on that role.

Caregivers are indeed gaining more power, and plugging into that power source could energize your HME business. Don't miss the opportunity.