HMEB Podcasts
The HME Business podcast offers an insider’s view into the home medical equipment (HME) industry. Host David Kopf, the executive editor of HME Business magazine and HME-business.com, examines key HME news, trends and developments, and interviews various experts to find out how HME provider owners and operators can run efficient, profitable and growing businesses while providing service and care that cements lasting patient and referral relationships. If you’re an HME industry professional, and you want to stay in the loop about smart business strategy and tactics, this podcast will become a regular listen for you.
Nov 16, 2021
For the past 18 months, only one trend has impacted the entirety of the HME industry, and of course, that trend has been COVID-19. Joining the podcast to discuss how the pandemic has affected accreditation for HME providers are José Domingos, the president and CEO of the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC), and Tim Safley, the program director for ACHC. Both guests explain how their company responded to the public health emergency, how that influenced CMS, and explore how they—and the industry—continue to learn and apply ongoing lessons learned during the pandemic.
Duration: 26 min
Sponsored by Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC)
Jan 10, 2022
Sleep therapy is all about reinforcing patients’ compliance with their care, and the primary way to achieve that lies in ensuring they have the right mask for them. Comfort remains king. But there are several patient factors that mask fitting traditionally hasn’t taken into account, but probably should have. Well a new technology, MaskFit AR, is trying to change that. Cox Tan-Ngo, the CEO of AR Medical Technologies, talks about how his company and its technology is trying to change mask fitting around the world.
Duration: 20 min
Sponsored by AR Medical Technologies
Jan 20, 2022
HME providers initially got a brief break from Medicare claims audits during the Covid public health emergency, but after resuming audits, the HME industry will face expanded audit challenges in 2022. And Medicare isn’t the only source of claims audits, either. Audit expert Wayne van Halem, president and founder of the audit consulting firm The van Halem Group, discusses what providers can expect this year and how an upcoming webinar can help them.
Duration: 19 min
Feb 14, 2022
Covid-19 has forced a lot of change when it comes to respiratory services. How has the situation evolved for oxygen and respiratory providers and the clinical care team? John Medina, RRT, director of sales at CAIRE Inc., and David Lyman RRT, RRT-SDS, vice president of VGM Respiratory, join the podcast to explore topics such as new variants, telehealth, frequent of RT check-ins, the pandemic’s impact on other home oxygen patients and much more. This is a deep dive into an ongoing situation.
Duration: 36 min
Sponsored by CAIRE Inc.
Mar 01, 2022
How well do you understand CMS’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate for providers and suppliers? Are you sure? It turns out that, while the agency didn’t directly include DMEPOS suppliers and DME pharmacies, those businesses might still need to comply with the guidelines if they want to keep doing business with certain referral partners. Sandy Canally, RN, founder and CEO of accrediting organization The Compliance Team, has been studying the issue closely and joins the podcast to share her insights.
Duration: 16 min
Sponsored by The Compliance Team
Mar 11, 2022
With Covid-19 on the wane, Medtrade West is returning to Arizona’s Phoenix Convention Center April 4-6, and the show offers some new features and creative tweaks on existing show content. In this episode, Medtrade Show Director York Schwab pulls back the curtain on the upcoming event to offer a sneak peek at what the conference and exposition has to offer this year.
Duration: 15 min
Mar 24, 2022
HME industry advocates are currently focused on two pivotal legislative fights: advancing H.R. 6641 and working with Senate contacts on approaches to preserve the current 75/25 blended rate for non-rural, non-CBA suppliers beyond the end of the public health emergency (PHE). Jay Witter, the senior vice president for public policy at the American Association for Homecare explains why both efforts are crucial and how providers can help. Then he offers a sneak peek at the upcoming AAHomecare Update slated for Medtrade West on April 5.
Duration: 31 min
Apr 07, 2022
Have you been wondering about Round 2024 of competitive bidding? You’re not alone. AAHomecare’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Kim Brummett sat down with HMEB during this week’s Medtrade West event to discuss how the next round of competitive bidding might play out, what CMS might do, and where the program might be headed in the future.
Duration: 14 min
May 03, 2022
Vertical integration is a term that gets tossed around in healthcare, but what does it mean for the home medical equipment industry, and what should providers know about the trend? Laura Williard of the American Association for Homecare explains the trend and how it might impact the industry and outlines strategies for how the industry and providers can operate in such an healthcare marketplace.
Duration: 15 min
May 13, 2022
VGM’s Heartland Conference is making its return as fully in-person event on June 13-15 in VGM’s hometown of Waterloo, Iowa, and is offering a lot of new features as well as familiar favorites. Conference Chair Jill Blaser visits the HMEB podcast to offer a taste of what’s in store with Heartland’s conference, expo and social events. From the hog roast to specialized conference tracks and a remodeled convention facility, there’s a lot to learn about. Bonus link: Prospective attendees can visit the 2022 Heartland Conference eProspectus.
Duration: 11 min
May 16, 2022
The world of HME is all about patient relationships — putting the patient front and center in the process. Maintaining patient relationships and maximizing patient engagement results in improved compliance and increased referrals. And it turns out the key to making that happen might be a lot more common than we realize. James Yi, the Director of Product Management over Digital Connectivity for industry software maker Brightree LLC, discusses the most effective approach to patient engagement and how to implement it.
Duration: 27 min
Sponsored by Brightree
May 23, 2022
We’re familiar with protection plans in our personal life, but there are some strong arguments why HME providers should consider offering them to their retail customers. MedGuard Protection Plans, is now offering these plans to the HME industry, and MedGuard CEO Sean Stapleton joins the HMEB podcast to talk about how offering product protection plans can help increase retail revenue, strengthen patient loyalty, and benefit the continuity of care.
Duration: 20 min
Sponsored by MedGuard Protection Plans
Jun 01, 2022
The transition to the homecare setting represents an omnipresent challenge for anyone involved in post-acute care — and particularly for HME providers. Vijay Kedar is the co-founder and CEO of Tomorrow Health, a company that has created a system that helps HME providers, referral partners, payers, patients and their caregivers coordinate more seamlessly. Kedar joins the podcast to talk about the issues surrounding the homecare transition and how HME providers benefit from smoothing that process.
Duration: 30 min
Sponsored by Tomorrow Health
Aug 09, 2022
Could Medicare finally fund seat elevation systems for power wheelchairs? For the first time ever, it’s looking possible. Medicare is opening its NCD up to review, which would mean a public comment period, and setting the stage for that was a virtual roundtable hosted by the National Council on Disability regarding funding the systems. Seth Johnson, the senior vice president of Government Relations for Pride Mobility/Quantum Rehab, joined the podcast to give us an insider’s view of the roundtable meeting.
Duration: 29 min
Jun 23, 2022
On June 1 an armed assailant entered Tulsa, Okla.’s Saint Francis Hospital and opened fire, killing four people and injuring a number of other victims. How has that event impacted hospital security, and how might that in turn impact HME sales professionals? HME sales expert Ty Bello, president and founder of Team@Work Coaching, and security expert Ralph C. Jensen, editor-in-chief and content director of Security Today, join the podcast to share their insights.
Duration: 27 min
Jun 28, 2022
Up until the Covid-19 public health emergency was declared, telehealth wasn’t at the top of the list of HME providers’ priorities. Now, telehealth has become the norm in U.S. healthcare. Dr. Scott Martin, the medical director of TeleHealth Clinical Evals, and Maxine Paul, the vice president of operations for TeleHealth Clinical Evals, join the podcast to discuss how referral partners and patients have rapidly adopted telehealth, how HME providers can leverage telehealth to improve care and strengthen referral and patient relationships, and the sorts of telehealth services their company offers to help HME providers save time and generate revenue.
Duration: 30 min
Sponsored by TeleHealth Clinical Evals
Aug 18, 2022
Resupply plays a pivotal role not only in sleep apnea patients’ therapy compliance and outcomes, but in the health of an HME provider’s business performance as well. That said, sleep resupply requires managing an enormous number of details for each patient. That’s why automating the process is so essential. Mike Lorenz, vice president of Resupply at HME software company Brightree, joins the podcast to talk about how far systems for automating resupply have come, the results they’ve achieved, and how providers can implement these tools into their businesses.
Duration: 26 min
Sponsored by Brightree
Sep 09, 2022
Ask any retail HME provider, and they’ll tell you that customer attitudes concerning the economy are impacting their buying habits. That’s not surprising, as monthly consumer sentiment data bears that out. Simply put, consumers are worried. So, how do retail HME providers manage those customer concerns during times of uncertainty? Sean Stapleton, CEO of MedGuard Protection Plans, joins the podcast once again to offer some strategies and tools that providers can employ to not only address those concerns but strengthen customer connections. Handled correctly, you just might create a customer for life.
Duration: 22 min
Sponsored by MedGuard Protection Plans
Sep 27, 2022
Everyone HME provider knows that if you’re going to be a DMEPOS supplier, then you need to be accredited to bill Medicare. But what if you’re an HME provider that doesn’t supply Medicare? More specifically, what if you’re a retail provider and need some way to demonstrate your expertise to your customers? Sandy Canally, RN, founder and CEO of accrediting organization The Compliance Team, joins the podcast to discuss a brand new certification program for non-Medicare providers.
Duration: 23 min
Sponsored by The Compliance Team
Sep 16, 2022
Running an HME or CRT business is filled with a dizzying array of complex workflows and unique business, funding and care protocols, practices and procedures. That’s why Bill Paul, who, as a one-time CRT provider, built a series of technology tools to help his business. Those tools went on to become the core of his current business, ATLAS Technology, where he serves as CEO. Paul and several of the ATLAS Technology team join the podcast to discuss the technology, telehealth, clinical care, and business services they now offer to HME and CRT provider businesses.
Duration: 28 min
Sponsored by ATLAS Technology