In A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway wrote, “No, that is the great fallacy; the wisdom of old men. They do not grow wise. They grow careful.”
At Medtrade and some of the other recent meetings I have attended, I listened to providers all talking about the same thing: “The government will be putting me out of business.” “I cannot survive with the reimbursements they are offering.”
To me, what I heard are simply cop outs. Entrepreneurs know they should never depend on one source of income. If a provider entered this business because they thought CMS, Medicare or Medicaid was going to make them rich, they were wrong.
Of course I also read about providers who are dishonest and have been discovered submitting fraudulent billings in the millions. These few dirty dealers give the industry a black eye. As I see it, DME/HME is the finest business, with caring proprietors who provide a great deal of service for which they are not reimbursed.
So this octogenarian wants you to listen! There are many cash sale opportunities beckoning to you, and my goal is to remind you to seek them out. They will not come to you unsolicited; you have to search for them.
First up, have you considered home telehealth? Who can provide this service better than a DME/HME provider?
After Medtrade in September, I attended an American Telemedicine Association meeting. Yes, I know that in this column I have spoken about this as a new discipline for providers to consider. Many home health agencies and Visiting Nurse Association principals are looking to bring their operations under the home telehealth umbrella.
Just envision your company in the middle of a network. On one side are the family caregivers and the patient. On the other side are the physician, the HHA, the VNA, the PT, the RT, all requiring the same information. This information will get to them almost instantly when using a home telehealth/remote monitoring unit.
The practitioners do not have to make a personal visit to obtain the patient's vital signs. How costly is it for them send out a nurse, or a technician, or for the RT to check?
Your company can be the source of the telehealth units.
You, as the DME/HME dealer providing the equipment, do not have to be concerned about reimbursement. You will have no paperwork other than a monthly invoice you send for service of the equipment, for its rental or for an outright sale.
Isn't that a refreshing change, cash sales?
Of course there are many other cash sale opportunities available to you as a DME/HME provider. I know I have spoken about these often, but I will be redundant and identify just a few that have been successful.
Think about the Americans with Disability Act. Some aggressive providers have used this to build a new segment of their business. I will only suggest that you obtain a copy of this law (one of your legislators in Washington should be able to provide it). When you study the law and record the multitude of products that you can provide, think how valuable you will become to your community. Again, you will be earning new cash sales.
As long as you will be calling a legislator, ask another one (make friends) for a copy of the OSHA requirements. Do the same as you did with the ADA requirements.
Go to your chamber of commerce armed with this information and speak about how your company can assist local businesses to be in compliance. Theatres, stores, ballparks, etc., all must be in accord with OSHA regulations. Once again, you will be earning new cash sales.
In one other suggestion, think about servicing EMTs, schools (colleges and universities have emergency rooms that often rival that of a hospital), prisons, churches, PTAs — and I could list many more.
Look at your community carefully, and envision the cash sales that go elsewhere that could instead be coming to your business.
I'll close with another quote, this one from Thomas Edison: “If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.”
Sheldon “Shelly” Prial is based in Melbourne, Fla., with Prial Consulting and also serves as the director of government relations for Atlanta-based Graham-Field Health Products. In 1987, he founded the Homecare Providers Co-Op, now part of The VGM Group. He can be reached by e-mail at shelly.prial@att.net or by phone at 321/255-3885.
