Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/52926
32 Vendors KEEPING IT SIMPLE IN 2012 ResMed seeks growth M BY LIZ BEAULIEU, Editor ICHAEL "MICK" Farrell, president of ResMed Americas, likes to call the company a 22-year-old start-up. That would explain why, in 2011, ResMed was nimble enough to shake up its management team and business units, creating a com- pany that Farrell says is poised to continue growth in its existing core market of sleep-disordered breathing and explore growth in new markets. Here's what Farrell had to say about what HME providers can expect from ResMed going for- ward. HME NEWS: Why does ResMed seek to diversify? WWW.HMENEWS.COM / FEBRUARY 2012 / HME NEWS Mick Farrell: Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is really our bread and butter. But that market is growing in the 6% to 8% range in the Americas, and we're position- ing ourselves for growth of 10% or more. So we have to look at ways to expand SDB growth by working with our HME partners to market to primary care physicians and new referral sources, but also to explore new potential areas for growth. HME: Tell me more about ResMed's The Meeting Place for HME Jobs and People How do you fi nd your perfect HME job or the perfect candidate? A niche job board is the answer. Whether you're looking for the perfect candidate, or the perfect job, the HME Career Center is the place to fi nd both. This specifi c online job hub focuses solely on connecting home medical jobs with experienced HME professionals. It's as easy as just signing up. You can post jobs, post resumes, set alerts and more! Start making your connections today! hmecareercenter.com New jobs postings Job seeking advice Tips on resumes, interviews & more Connect with your niche at: hmecareercenter.com Follow us! new business unit, Ventures & Initia- tives, which will drive much of the company's growth in new markets. Farrell: It's all about commercial alliances, commercial acquisitions and commercial partnerships to drive value propositions for our physician, therapist and HME provider customers. We need to continue to ask HME providers, what value-added services can we provide you? HME: What are some of the new markets ResMed is looking at? Farrell: Homecare and sub-acute ventilation is an enormous oppor- tunity for us. Also, there is the den- tal SDB market. We made an acqui- sition in 2009 of a company that has a dental sleep medicine device in France. We have expanded that throughout northern Europe and now we're just starting to bring that over to North America. How can we best partner up with physi- cians, sleep labs and HME provid- ers to allow access to this product? There's also the perioperative care market: Models where hospitals screen and diagnose OSA pre- op and ensure that the patient is on treatment in the hospital and moves to a discharge planner to ensure subsequent sleep therapy in the home are an enormous oppor- tunity. HME: How do you plan to remain relevant to HME providers and your CPAP products and services, as you pursue new markets? Farrell: Our relationship with our HME providers is incredibly important to us. When you look at the global healthcare spend in the Americas, 16% of our GDP is spent on health care and of that 84% is spent on chronic diseases. We know what providers know: Investments in home care save money and reduce the overall healthcare spend. So our job, in looking at HME providers, is how do we show that ROI to all the dif- ferent players. If you think we're not going to spend time on the $1 billion global revenue in sleep that continues to grow very rapidly, you'd be crazy. That's a huge oppor- tunity for us and always will be. HME: ResMed is positioning itself for the future; how should HME pro- viders do the same? Farrell: I think HME providers have to focus on patient care, as well as scale and efficiency. They have to continue to focus on new market- ing opportunities. They have to look at reaching out to primary care physicians in their communi- ties. They have to look at partner- ships with sleep labs that are start- ing to get involved in home sleep testing (HST), so that, together, they can participate in this next wave of growth that we're going to see in the SBD market. One critical element is that the HST model has to be one that leads to compliance and long- term adherence to sleep therapy— that way the provider, the insurer and the patient wins. HME