The biannual Innovative HME Retail Product Awards, sponsored by HomeCare, honor HME products that are geared toward retail sales. The purpose of the competition, held each year at Medtrade and Medtrade Spring, is to promote those products that contribute to providers' bottom lines though cash sales rather than Medicare reimbursement. Prior to the awards, products are reviewed by judges; the top 10 advance to Medtrade Spring, held in Las Vegas March 30-April 1, for a round of judging. These 10 products will be presented in a conference session, "The Best New HME Retail/Cash Opportunities," on the afternoon of March 31. Subsequent voting will determine the top three winners. "After the session, there was a line of people at our booth placing orders for the Rebound Health OTC TENS unit, and it didn't stop there," says Mariah Griffin, vice president of sales and marketing at BioMedical Life Systems. (We can confirm—the booth was so busy we couldn't get a photo with the BioMedical crew!) In addition, the New Product Pavilion (see sidebar at right), also sponsored by HomeCare, houses HME products that have been on the market less than a year. Attendees can vote for their favorites; HomeCare will award Provider's Choice Gold, Silver and Bronze recognition at the end of the show. Note: More products were being added to the New Product Pavilion at press time.
