Home Filling Systems

Home filling systems offer patients and providers another low-delivery win-win.

• By Joseph Duffy
• Jun 01, 2013

As a popular low-delivery oxygen model, home filling systems give patients flexibility, independence and peace of mind by letting them fill their tanks when they want and in the comfort and convenience of their own home. This makes scheduling their activities much easier. And by having oxygen in the house, it alleviates one of the biggest patient fears: running out of air. Patients benefit physically from an ability to live a more mobile lifestyle, and this newfound portability and confidence can help with increased compliance.

For the oxygen provider, as cuts, caps and competitive bidding motivate the need to decrease costs, home filling systems are helping to reduce overhead by minimizing the number of deliveries and related expenses.

Homecare Concepts, an HME provider in New York, has been an advocate of home fill delivery for years. Five years ago, 25 percent of their delivery was for portable tanks, which President and CEO Tom Ryan calls non-valuated deliveries. Now they are less than 5 percent. And 95 percent of their fleet is non-delivery technology. The global trend in chronic lung disease will continue to increase the demand for portable oxygen. So if you are still considering home filling systems, now is the time. Here are some of the latest home filling product development on the market: 

Responsive Respiratory Launches Home Filling Cylinder and Valves
Responsive Respiratory is offering equipment for the home filling market, including cylinders, kits and valves. The cylinders are compatible with a homecare manufacture’s home filling system, giving providers options when choosing replacement equipment, carry cases and other accessories. Responsive’s home filling solutions also include patient set-up kits and a personalization program, which lets providers add their company name and logo to the cylinders. According to the company, this acts as a theft deterrent and enhances the provider’s image.
Responsive Respiratory
(866) 333-4030
www.respondo2.com

Invacare Offers the HomeFill Oxygen System
Patients can fill their own five-liter and 10-liter high-pressure cylinders from a concentrator with the Invacare HomeFill Oxygen System, letting patients experience more independence. Invacare’s HomeFill System lets patients breathe at home from a continuous flow concentrator and then venture outside the home with an ambulatory pack. Invacare says that patient protection ensures oxygen purity in the cylinder is always greater than 90 percent.
Invacare Corp.
(800) 333-6900
www.invacare.com

UltraFill System Available from Philips Respironics
Philips Respironics’ UltraFill home oxygen system comprises a stationary oxygen concentrator, standard or long-lasting dispensing cylinders, and a cylinder filling station. UltraFill uses high-capacity cylinders that operate at 3,000 PSI, befitting high-usage patients who are active or need continuous flow of supplemental oxygen. According to Philips Respironics, the UltraFill system lets oxygen patients receive therapy while filling a cylinder, fill a cylinder while the OCR or regulator is attached, and connect or disconnect a cylinder with one hand.
Philips Home Healthcare Solutions
(800) 345-6443
ultrafill.respironics.com

This article originally appeared in the Respiratory & Sleep Management June 2013 issue of HME Business.