Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/36987
■ Sue Chen, CEO of Nova Medical, on why the HME industry is about more than ‘gray pieces of bent metal.’ See story page 34. Philips launches HomeLox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Software market consolidates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 MedForce helps after tornado hits Alabama .......... 33 Manufacturer-level competitive bidding? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Vendors WWW.HMENEWS.COM / AUGUST 2011 / HME NEWS 33 BRIEFS Brightree grows fast ATLANTA – Brightree has been chosen by the Association for Corporate Growth At- lanta as the fourth fastest-growing com- pany in Georgia for the second year in a row. Brightree was selected in the small middle-market category. Winners are se- lected based on audited financial state- ments and a sustained record of employee growth over three consecutive years. Fastrack Healthcare: We’re new and improved PLAINVIEW, N.Y. – Fastrack Healthcare Sys- tems has released the latest version of its Enterprise Software for HME providers. The new version features more than 100 en- hancements to increase productivity and to meet new transaction standards for claims submissions that go into effect Jan. 1. Roho Group named Ill. Exporter of the Year BELLEVILLE, Ill. – The Roho Group has been named the recipient of the Illinois Gover- nor’s Export Award for Exporter of the Year Liquid poised for comeback Philips Respironics launches HomeLox BY LIZ BEAULIEU, Editor MURRYSVILLE, Pa. – If you’re an HME provider and you think liquid oxygen is too costly to provide, Philips Respironics wants you to think again. The manufacturer in late June introduced the HomeLox, a portable liquid oxygen sys- tem that allows users to gen- erate and store liquid oxygen in their homes. That, in turn, allows providers to eliminate twice-a-month tank deliveries, which can cost $75 a pop. “One of the market needs for the HomeLox was really cen- tered around the provider and the tough economic times,” said Jay Vreeland, director of marketing for North Amer- HomeLox features hands-free filling. ica, Home Respiratory Care, Home Healthcare Solutions. “It gives them the ability to get into the liquid oxygen game or manage their existing business more efficiently.” LIQUID O2 SEE PAGE 34 TAKING STOCK What happens when the software market consolidates? BY LIZ BEAULIEU, Editor ATLANTA – Four months after software vendor Brightree bought Pacware, some HME providers are elated, some are distressed and some don’t know what to think. Provider David Baxter switched from Pacware to Brightree in October of 2009, just before the acqui- sition. He says Brightree’s advanced reporting capa- bilities have helped him increase his collection rate from 85% to 96%, adding about $500,000 to his bot- tom line in the first year alone. “Everybody’s doing Excel spreadsheets to data mine, trying to figure out what they’re doing wrong,” said Baxter, owner and presi- dent of Columbia, Tenn.- based Medical Necessities SOFTWARE SEE PAGE 35 Brightree does right by providers BY LIZ BEAULIEU, Editor for medium-sized businesses. More than 55% of The Roho Group’s total company revenues are from export sales in more than 60 international markets. Invacare ranks high ELYRIA, Ohio – Invacare has been ranked as one of the top employers in Northeast Ohio by the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Top Work- places 2011 survey. This is the second year in a row that Invacare has received the honor. Companies were selected for the honor based on leadership, compen- sation, direction, training, workplace flex- ibility and diversity. Harmar gets technical with dealers SARASOTA, Fla. – Harmar completed its first Technical Education Forum at the Mi- rage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, June 15-16. At the forum, 80 dealers from 50 companies learned product information in a conference environment and received hands-on training in four technical break- out sessions. Inventory Solutions revamps website NEW YORK – Inventory Solutions has launched a new and improved website. The new site, www.invsol.com, provides product information, weekly and monthly specials, and a listing of products that In- ventory Solutions seeks to purchase from homecare providers. ATLANTA – Close to 200 of Pacware’s 750 customers have committed to or are already in the process of convert- ing to Brightree, company officials said in June. “The acquisi- tion’s going well,” said Brightree CEO Dave Cormack. Brightree acquired Pac- Dave Cormack ware earlier this year. It continues to support Pac- ware’s client-server prod- uct, but it’s also giving the Krista Traphagen, Dianna Welsh, Esther Apter We’re here to help CEO Esther Apter and several employees of MedForce Technologies were in Pratt, Ala., June 12-14 to help clean up in the wake of a devastating tornado that ripped through the state in April. They worked with NECHAMA, a disaster response organization that Apter’s daughter, Miriam, had been working with already. Apter and her employees helped to dismantle a destroyed home whose owner didn’t have the money to knock it down. “We have customers in all of the areas affected by the recent natural disasters, so it really hit home for us,” Apter stated in a release. “We thought, ‘Well, there are people there in need of our help, so let’s just go to help.’” company’s customers the opportunity to convert to its web-based platform. While software conver- sions make most providers cringe, Pacware’s leader, Byron Maynard, and its 20 employ- ees have remained onboard, mak- ing the switch to Brightree as pain- less as possible, Cormack said. “The process is smooth, because we have both data- bases and we’ve done the BRIGHTREE SEE PAGE 35 GAO explores bid program for manufacturers BY LIZ BEAULIEU, Editor WASHINGTON – Industry stake- holders are taking comfort that a Government Account- ability Office (GAO) report on manufacturer-level competi- tive bidding for home medi- cal equipment doesn’t include strong language or even a rec- ommendation. The report, which Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., forwarded to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, explores Seth Johnson Affairs (VA). existing man- ufacturer-lev- el competi- tive bidding p r o g r ams , like those in place at the Department of Veterans “The GAO uses pretty tepid language,” said Cara Bachen- heimer, senior vice president of government relations for GAO SEE PAGE 34