Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/48253
20 Providers BY ELIZABETH DEPREY, Associate Editor YARMOUTH, Maine – HME provid- ers hoping to reach out to poten- tial COPD patients have a new resource: COPD-TV.com. The new website, founded by Greg Shockey, president of Lung Centers of America, is intended to offer user-friendly educational con- tent for patients with COPD. "It's an idea whose time has come," he said. "There's a lot of resources on the net, but it's kind of a hodgepodge of different things." His solution: a website that offers two- to three-minute video clips with information ranging from breathing techniques and exercis- es to information about the disease itself, as well as written resources and a provider directory. "There are 24 million people with COPD out there, and most are not getting the effective treatment that they need," he said. "We're trying to bring the providers and the patients together in an effec- tive way." Shockey is currently looking WWW.HMENEWS.COM / DECEMBER 2011 / HME NEWS Online COPD resource brings patients and providers together for anyone who offers services to COPD patients throughout the country to include in the provider directory, including HME provid- ers. A free listing will provide con- tact information, and providers can pay for an upgrade to include logos and web addresses. "There's not really a good active provider directory anywhere," said Shockey. HME providers might also want to take advantage of COPD TV's video offerings, including expert interviews, facility tours and prod- uct demonstrations. "The overall objective is to create a website that's the go-to place for COPD," Shockey said. Shockey planned to launch COPD-TV.com in November. HME APRIA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Apria a preferred provider and said that it would terminate some existing contracts. Gary Marn- hout didn't lose his contract, but the provider found himself doing damage control with refer- ral sources after a letter made the rounds giving the impression that Apria was the only game in town. "We went to every single doctor's office, sleep lab and case manager and said, 'There have been some changes, but our company is still in- network and still taking patients,'" said Marnhout, regional vice presi- dent of Lexington, Ky.-based Blue- grass Oxygen. "We have a good name up here and we've been tak- ing Humana referrals ever since." For providers who did receive termination letters from Humana, there was a small saving grace: Many of the plans had the same benefits out-of-network as in-net- work. That means that many pro- viders were able to retain at least some Humana patients. Provider Thad Connally, whose contract ended Sept. 30, said he was able to salvage about 30% of his Humana business that way. "We told our referral sources if they weren't sure, please call us and let us check the plan," said Connal- ly, president of First Choice Home Medical in Bowling Green, Ky. "When Humana redoes those con- tracts with employers, I am sure we will be on the outside looking in." One bit of irony: Apria can't cover all of Humana's patients, providers say. "Apria called and asked if we could take some patients for them in an area where they didn't have an office," said Marnhout. In fact, Humana in September added Rotech Healthcare back into its network as a preferred provid- er, said Teresa Camfield, executive director of the Kentucky Medical Equipment Suppliers Association. That's just the kind of news that gives provider Wayne Sale hope. The president of Health First in Richmond, Va., didn't have a Huma- na contract, but has lost the payer as a source of "open referrals." "Our industry prides itself on service and availability," he said. "I don't think any one company can serve the needs of an entire insur- ance population on its own." HME