Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/40005
s Carl Will during Invacare Media Day in July: Providers should rip complexities out of their business. See story page 56. Vendors ramp up sales in foreign markets ........... 55 MED Group debuts Competitive Bidding Institute. . . . . . 55 Earnings: Invacare, ResMed, Covidien ............... 58 Travel CPAP enters the market ..................... 59 Vendors WWW.HMENEWS.COM / SEPTEMBER 2011 / HME NEWS 55 BRIEFS ResMed goes high-tech SAN DIEGO – ResMed has acquired Bian- caMed, an Ireland-based manufacturer and distributor of a non-contact device for monitoring sleep and breathing in the home and hospital markets. BiancaMed's SleepMinder detects respiration and movement with biometric software. DeVilbiss sponsors SmartFlex study SOMERSET, Pa. – DeVilbiss Healthcare an- nounced July 5 that a clinical study it sponsored confirms the effectiveness of its SmartFlex technology, an exhalation pressure relief solution that increases pa- tient comfort. The randomized, double- blind, crossover clinical study showed the SmartFlex "to be equally effective to stan- dard AutoPap therapy in that respiratory events and oxygen saturation during sleep were normalized among the participants," according to the company. Drive meets demand PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. – Drive Medical an- nounced in July that it opened a distribu- tion center in South Brunswick, N.J., and a technical service center in Bohemia, Vendors discover refuge overseas 'There is a perception, and a reality in my opinion, that products from the U.S. are better quality' BY LIZ BEAULIEU, Editor YARMOUTH, Maine – With reim- bursement cuts and other pressures in the United States, a bright spot for some HME manufacturers are sales outside of the country. The Roho Group, a manufacturer of wheelchair seat cush- ions, credits exports sales for more than 55% of its business. Nidek Medical, a manufacturer of oxygen con- centrators: 90%. "The biggest growth of our business far and away has been our international business," said Tom Borcherding, president of The Roho Group. "We put more resources into supporting our international business." When it comes to sales out- side of the U.S., The Roho Group and Nidek Medical have a similar business model: For the most part, they both find distributors to be their sales, marketing, education and distribution arms in for- eign countries. (The Roho Group, how- ever, forms exclusive agreements with dis- tributors; Nidek Med- ical does not.) DME manufac- Tom Borcherding turers say there are numerous advantag- es to selling product outside of the United States, including healthcare systems that are preventative- vs. treat- ment-based, and consumers who are hungry for "Made in the USA" labels. "In my experience of going to some of the international trade shows, there is a perception, and a reality in my opinion, FOREIGN SEE PAGE 59 N.Y. The new state-of-the-art distribu- tion center is about 200,000 square feet, significantly larger than the company's Hauppauge, N.Y., facility. Otto Bock buys TriQuality MINNEAPOLIS – Otto Bock US HealthCare has acquired TriQuality, a Sacramento, Calif.- based manufacturer of mobility seating. Tri- Quality and its 28 employees are now part of Otto Bock Company Group based in Duder- stadt, Germany. Otto Bock has distributed TriQuality's Nu-Tec planar seating for seven years, a partnership that led to the purchase. Roho Group sponsors seating, tennis events BELLEVILLE, Ill. – The Roho Group spon- sored the first International Symposium on Seating and Posture Aug. 18 to 20 in Bue- nos Aires, Argentina. It was also the title sponsor for the US Open USTA Wheelchair Tennis Championships Aug. 30 to Sept. 4 in St. Louis. Fastrack offers bar coding PLAINVIEW, N.Y. – Fastrack Healthcare Sys- tems announced July 15 a new function for its Document Manager that allows users to add bar codes to forms. The bar codes al- low the user to find the form within the sys- tem and sort documents into categories. Who's part of your big picture? Pride Mobility's Paul Rising makes a case for global vendors BY LIZ BEAULIEU, Editor YARMOUTH, Maine – Paul Rising travels to 50 countries a year as senior vice president of interna- tional sales for Pride Mobility Products. Here's what he had to say about why providers should buy their products from a glob- al manufacturer and more. Size does matter Pride Mobility has six brick- and-mortar facilities in Canada, the U.K., Holland, Italy, Austra- lia and New Zealand. "We con- tinue to look to grow, but we're selective in where we choose to do business," Rising said. "You have to be selective because some of the business is also driven by local manufacturers. It's very difficult, at times, to go into a market where there's a strong local presence. Locals Pride's Victory scooter. like to deal with locals. We also try to target much larger mar- kets (overseas), like the U.K." Same or similar? While Pride Mobility may have two versions of its Vic- tory scooter here in the Unit- ed States, it may have 10 ver- sions overseas, depending on a country's requirements for and restrictions on speed, battery size, etc., Rising said. "Every country is different," he said. RISING SEE PAGE 58 'We're all in this together' BY LIZ BEAULIEU, Editor LUBBOCK, Texas – When it comes to competitive bidding, The MED Group wants HME providers to have all of their bases covered. That's why MED has formed the Competitive Bidding Insti- tute to school providers on not only how to submit a bid, but also how to stay in the game, whether they become a contract or non-contract provider. "The primary focus is to stop competi- tive bidding," said Wayne Grau, MED's vice president of supplier relations and government affairs. "But we have an obli- gation to put together tools and servic- es that our members can access so that they're ready to compete." CMS expects to open bidding later this year in 91 cities as part of Round 2 of competitive bidding. It expects to announce payment amounts in the fall of 2012 and contract suppliers in the spring of 2013. The institute will take various shapes, Grau said: It's a binder that providers can use as a reference tool; it's a series of webinars that, for example, teach providers how to improve operational efficiency; and it's in-person meetings at various state association events. "We don't want to hand them something and say, 'Good luck,' so we're putting together a comprehensive program," he said. "But it's a little bit at a time. It's, think about how to generate revenue off of new products, then move to the next part, how to maximize revenue from sleep." A series of webinars kicking off the program in July and August was attended by hundreds of providers—members and non-members, Grau said. "We just want providers to realize we're all in this togeth- er," he said. "They don't have to do this alone." HME Wayne Grau Competitive bidding tool kit for providers THE VGM GROUP This member services organization held two webinars in July on "Successful Strategies for Competitive Bidding." It will also present on this topic at Medtrade in October. www.vgmeducation.com AGAPE MEDICAL MANAGEMENT This healthcare consulting and billing services company offers a "Bid Package Preparation Service." In Round 1 of competitive bidding, all of its clients were awarded con- tracts. www.agapemedi.com LIEBER CONSULTING This consulting firm will give a presentation at Medtrade in October, "Competitive Bidding—A How To Approach," detailing the impact of the program on all providers, not just those in bid areas. www.lieberconsulting.com PREMIUM CONSULTING GROUP Earlier this year, this consulting group partnered with Med-Trust Management to roll out a program that helps providers with strategic planning, registration, covered documentation review, bid submission, risk management and more. It assisted multiple bid winners in Round 1. www.premiumconsultingcorp.com HME