Medtrade Spring Preview

Medtrade Spring is set to open next month in Las Vegas, and show producers say this edition of the buying and networking expo — a more intimate version of its fall trade show — will focus on building business and improving quality of life.

To be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center, March 16-18, the show will offer more than 75 educational sessions and exhibits from 450 HME manufacturers. Attendees can see the newest products, get an update on grassroots legislative efforts and learn the ins-and-outs of accreditation, soon to be required under the recent Medicare reform law. The spring event comes on the heels of Medicare legislation, just as the home medical equipment industry is looking at the playing board to plan its next move.

“Medtrade Spring in Las Vegas is an opportunity for home health care providers to learn about products, reimbursement and compliance in a setting that encourages networking in an informal environment,” says Joel Mills, CEO of Advanced Home Care in Greensboro, N.C., and chairman of the American Association for Homecare.

For the third year, AAHomecare will present its Continuum of Care half-day conference on clinical and practice protocols for practitioners, clinicians and therapists. Scheduled for Tuesday, March 16, the workshops will focus on respiratory therapy, orthotic and prosthetic fitting, rehabilitation and assistive technology and home health nursing.

Also on March 16, AAHomecare's Accreditation Summit will focus on the accreditation process for providers. The three-hour session will be moderated by Steve Vinci, general manager of Timberlake Corp., Sacramento, Calif., and president of the California Association of Medical Equipment Providers, and will present a comparison of industry accreditation organizations.

Representatives from the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC), the Community Health Accreditation Program (CHAP), the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and The Compliance Team will give a brief description of their accreditation services, process, benefits and costs. The panelists also will discuss how their programs can best meet the accreditation requirements of HME companies under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003. (You can preview the accreditation process in “Mandatory Accreditation” on page 38 in this issue.)

On Wednesday, March 17, the exhibit floor opens and concurrent educational seminars begin. Sessions include a range of current topics, from an overview of sleep disorders and management techniques to down-to-earth tax advice and basic billing tips. Several sessions will focus on the basics behind Medicare audits, and will cover what constitutes an “audit-proof” patient chart, along with what documentation a provider should always have on-hand and what documentation the DMERCs can request.

There are also a number of special events to round out your visit before, during and after the show.

On Monday, March 15, join Jane Bunch of JB&CS and Louis Feuer of Dynamic Seminars & Consulting as they put you through “Billing and Sales Bootcamp.” This creative session will address the challenges that providers' billing and sales departments face as they work together to build revenues, including the conflicts, the issues and the goals for companies to meet as a cohesive business organization. Back-office staff will learn the latest in reimbursement issues, while the sales staff learns about working with referral sources. Register at www.jbcservices.com or call 678/445-1221 for more information.

On Wednesday, March 17, get ready to toss out your old gondolas and open up your shadowed aisles at “Trading Spaces, HME Style.” Presented by Jack Evans, president of Global Media Marketing, and Edward Lemar, vice president of design for Gladson Design Group, this special hands-on workshop will teach attendees how to transform an HME showroom into an inviting, open space that works to generate sales.

Also on Wednesday, “The Future of Medicare” will be the subject of an address by Bruce C. Vladeck, professor of health policy at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and consultant to a range of health care organizations. Vladeck spent more than four years as administrator of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA).

On March 17-18, the Academy of Certified Case Managers will hold its Western Regional Conference looking at patient safety and case management legal challenges. For information, contact ACCM at 203/454-1333.

And on Friday, March 19, the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) will administer ATP, ATS and RET exams as part of its credentialing program. For more information or to register, call 703/524-6686 or e-mail credentials@resna.org.

For more information about Medtrade Spring or to register, visit www.medtradespring.com or call 800/933-8735.