Safety First

If someone walks into an HME, nine times out of 10 they'll need a bathroom safety product if they don't already have one in their home, says Kevin Jones, senior product and brand manger for Home Care by Moen. Regardless of what else the customer needs — a walker, wheelchair or oxygen concentrator — the bath safety products typically come into play at an earlier stage, he says.

With odds like these, providers can barely afford not to take advantage of this expanding market, manufacturers say. And cash sales from bath safety products will become increasingly important for providers looking beyond the traditional reimbursement business model, especially in the face of competitive bidding and Medicare payment cuts.

“We think the bath safety market is certainly one of the bright spots for HME amid everything else going on with regard to reimbursement and extensive concerns in the marketplace,” says Jones. “It's hard to argue against bath safety and what it has to offer.”

There's no argument that this market is growing by leaps and bounds. Falls are the No. 1 cause of injury for older adults, and as baby boomers continue to age, the need for products to assist and prevent dangerous slips in the bathroom will only increase, he points out.

By 2010, 100 million Americans will be age 50 and older, Jones says. Furthermore, there are 54 million caregivers in the country, buying for parents, grandparents and injured family members. He estimates that Moen's bath safety line will continue to grow 8 to 10 percent annually.

“If you put those figures together, from a demand perspective, bath safety is a great place to be,” he says.

But with growth comes greater competition from traditional retailers, pharmacies and online companies, who all want a piece of this lucrative market.

“There are broader channels for distribution and more and more sales through these channels,” says Raj Sandhu, product manager for personal care and bathing at Invacare. “We're seeing more e-commerce sites that are out there today than ever before. They are tapping into this home care market and offering a wide variety of products, including bath safety, and marketing direct to consumers.”

Providers that want to play need to brush up on their retail strategies and offer a wide-variety of products to address the different wants and needs of consumers, whether it's more style, comfort, stability, function, portability or ease of use, according to manufacturers.