Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/36985
Technology SPECIAL REPORT www.hmenews.com quick-access apps with the larger screen and keyboard of a laptop computer. A leap ahead in functionality, and just plain cool. But some providers say the iPad transcends its tech-toy status, deliver- ing tangible bottom-line benefits. “I can only do so much in a lunch meeting when I’m talking about a power chair,” said Josh Marx, territory manager for Medical Service Co. in Cleveland. “I can’t bring a power chair to Josh Marx iPads: Valuable tool or just cool? W BY JENNIFER KEIRN Contributing Editor hen Apple released the first iPad in 2010, it blended the iPhone’s touch-screen capability and lunch, but I can display on my iPad a chair’s turning ability.” Marx is still beta-testing the iPad’s value in the field, but he’s finding in many settings it can replace easily dated sales collateral or bulky computer-and-projector PowerPoint presentations. “You add value to your referral source when you can better answer questions,” he said. “You’re looked at as an educator.” It’s that potential as an educational tool that has Eric Cohen, president of National Sleep Therapy in Scarborough Maine, so excited about the iPad. His clinicians use it to show patients visually what their sleep therapy will entail. “You put it right in their hands and give them control,” said Cohen. “We want patients to have the same experience regardless of Nonin Medical Allow technology to ease maintenance BY JOHN ANDREWS Contributing Editor he key to survival in the financially pressured HME industry is cutting overhead and maximizing efficiencies, all while ensuring a high quality of service and patient care. Those demands may sound difficult, but solid technology can point providers in the right direction, the vice president of vital signs at Plymouth, Minn.-based Nonin Medical says. Tricia Haydon says the company’s line of monitoring products are designed to ease the maintenance factor for HME providers, resulting in having to conduct fewer home visits, use less resources and lower overall expenditures. Nonin specializes in pulse oximetry, regional oximetry, capnography and OEM solutions for monitoring equipment. Its patient demographics range from pediatrics to geriatrics. “Our focus is on what solutions our technology can offer for both provider and patient,” Haydon said. “We collaborate with HME providers to understand their business model and how they care for patients. Because the homecare environment is more decentralized, the equipment should be easy for patients and caregivers to use.” T 6 AUGUS T 2 0 1 1 Changing patient demographics are at the heart of an evolving homecare environment, where patients are becoming more independent, active and capable of managing their health. In essence, an empowered patient able to collect and transmit vital sign data eases some of the provider’s labor and financial burdens. “Patients want to understand what pulse Tricia Haydon oximetry is and how to use it,” Haydon said. “We are putting tools in place that allow patients to manage their conditions. It’s about technology, but it is also about how they interact with therapy. Clinicians are still the critical touch point, but they can now interact in a much more productive way.” Haydon concedes that the clinical community has historically bridled at the thought of patients having access to their own data, but she says attitudes are changing. “Clinicians are slowly getting comfortable with the fact that it is productive for patients to access their own data,” she said. “Once clinicians understand that it’s important to helping patients live an active lifestyle. It is beneficial.” HME High tech provider Perfect for pediatrics Pulse oximetry is an indispensable tool for pediatric HME providers and the technology is improving greatly, says Jeff Gasparini, director of patient ser- vices for Richmond, Va.-based Pediatric Connection. “Two things are extremely important in the pediatric market—durability and battery longevity,” he said, noting that Nonin Medical has made long strides in improving those product features in both its table top and fingertip pulse oximetry units. “A long battery life means that the unit can be used as a stationary and a portable,” Gasparaini said. “They went the extra mile to make them more durable for pediatric and adolescent patients. These units are ideal in terms of size and durability.” In business 12 years, Pediatric Connection specializes in patients that come out of neonatal intensive care and pediatric intensive care with chronic respi- ratory and feeding issues. The company provides home ventilators, tracheostomy supplies, heart monitoring, oxygen, drug delivery and enteral nutrition therapy. HME clinician.” Beyond education, the iPad also helps providers with their day-to-day business activities, says Edward Kutt of DIABCO Heathcare Software Solutions. He encour- ages his customers to download the WinAdmin remote desktop app ($7.99) that can access applications like his AR-Express billing software remotely, allowing them to check on the day’s billings or deposits. “If you want to look something up, like in a dashboard, then the iPad is a good management tool,” he said. Practical tool yes, but the cool factor doesn’t hurt, either. “We hope the patient says, ‘Wow! These guys are the best,’” said Cohen. “The more you engage, the more they give you permis- sion to help them.” HME