From HomeCareXtra's Medtrade Planner
ATLANTA — Jennifer Weathers will be looking at Medtrade this year for that one hot, must-have cash item that will fly off the shelves at Ken Glover Drug and make it all worth the trip. Last year it was animal-shaped humidifiers she came across at Crane that became the hot item during cold and cough season at the Dora, Ala.-based chain, where she is DMEPOS coordinator. The humidifiers, shaped like an elephant and a tiger, are reminiscent of local college football mascots for Alabama and Auburn.
Before Medtrade, Weathers also keeps a to-do list of things to look for at the show, based on feedback she has received from customers.
"I'm a list-maker, and I started my list a couple of months ago," she said. Among the items on her list this year are diabetic shoes in smaller sizes and bariatric products. "I have a couple of new bariatric patients that weigh more than routinely available products [can accommodate]," noted Weathers, who is also looking to expand her line of CPAP masks to include more vendors.
There will likely be many shopping lists among the thousands of HME professionals who converge on the Georgia World Congress Center next week for Medtrade 2010. On the big to-do list for the industry as a whole, competitive bidding, proliferating audits and fallout from health care reform will be looming large at the venerable show and expo, with providers scrambling — sometimes desperately — to find products and strategies that will give them an edge, or at least a glimmer of hope.
With competitive bidding set to roll out Jan. 1, 2011, "dealers need to reinvent themselves to survive," said Pat O'Brien, director of marketing at Golden Technologies, which has been exhibiting at Medtrade since 1986. This year the manufacturer is celebrating its 25th anniversary. "Providers need to be sure they are fully informed and fully educated," O'Brien said of the industry's current situation.
With four stores in rural Walker County, Ala., Weathers is keeping an eye on competitive bidding, but right now her main purpose is to take part in networking opportunities and "see what other providers are doing and how we can model after them or share with them what we are doing that is working,"
She also sees members of the Alabama Durable Medical Equipment Association (ADMEA) and gets a chance to talk about what's going on. "Some of the concerns of providers change [over the years], from competitive bidding to accreditation to who knows what's coming," she said. "I just try to stay optimistic about it and remember that I am making a difference in people's lives."
Timothy Bates, president of Premier Home Healthcare, Orlando, Fla., said his goal at the show is to network, learn about new products, understand what's going on and possibly "find a new niche."
"Really what has intrigued me lately is the home accessibility improvement market," said Bates, who got interested in the sector after meeting with VGM Group at 2009's Medtrade. Now he's looking at home improvement products such as grab bars, ramps and ceiling lifts.
Tyler Riddle, vice president of MRS Home Care in Albany, Ga., grew up in the industry and is the second generation to work in his family's HME business, which now has 12 locations in middle and south Georgia. This trip marks his seventh show as an adult in the business. Bates said he'll be looking for any insights on competitive bidding and the impending elimination of the first-month purchase option for power wheelchairs.
But, he added, "I look forward to the people more than the product lines. It's a great place to network in our industry, and it's nice to have the support of other people."
Riddle will also be looking to promote NoBid.org, a website he established aimed at helping HME providers spread the message to beneficiaries about the perils of competitive bidding. "CMS is telling beneficiaries that competitive bidding is going to be good for them," said Riddle. "This is my way of telling my patients how the program can hurt them …
"I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't care about the patients," Riddle said. "You would be a fool to be involved in this market if you aren't patient-focused, and that's what I think will save our industry. Nothing is set in stone in this industry, and we have to adapt. We will be more efficient."
Although Premier's Bates won six contracts in the original Round 1, he did not win any in the Round 1 rebid. "My personal opinion is that [competitive bidding] will get implemented Jan. 1 but will be repealed within six months thereafter," he said. "I think we are going to be OK; we are looking for other product avenues, more retail and expanding into the home improvement market.
"Obviously there is going to be a need for what we do," said Bates. "CMS isn't trying to kill the industry, they are trying to thin it out to make it easier to control and manage."
Despite the downside, there is some optimism among those attending Medtrade 2010.
Riddle said MRS recently celebrated its 30th year in business and last year retired its first employee. "I am extremely optimistic," he said. "As long as there is a breath in my body (and my father's body), we will be fine. We have done well at meeting challenges. This industry is an industry of good people."
