MedTrade Day 2

Don't talk with your hands. I've heard it many, many times and still haven't learned.

Oh, and what a great day today at MedTrade. The good news/ bad news is that we'll be back next year. It was great to see a goodly number of client friends and new friends that we would not have seen otherwise. Also encouraging was the presale of booth space for next year's show.

And then there was the neat little information tidbit related to the BPR Medical FireSafe TM device for respiratory oxygen cannulas. This link http://www.lifegas.com/files/firesafeV2.htm will get you to a little video showing how it works.

Homecare Medical Oxygen- Fuzzy Math

The Medicare Benefits related to oxygen were changed three years ago limiting collection of rental for respiratory oxygen equipment to 36 months for individual patients. There are a number of articles and talks discussing the direct impact of this new guideline on oxygen providers. And there is some fuzzy math being used. As mentioned by an old boss, figures lie……

It is purported by the Office of the Inspector General that 22% of Medicare patients receive care for over 36 months. Does this mean then that 22% of oxygen rentals just went away at the36 month point?

This is not likely.

Medicare does not account for 100% of rental billing. Even if it did, the only way January could account for 22% instant reduction would be for providers to have set up no new accounts since January 2006. Not.........

Yes. The Medicare guidelines are most certainly having a big impact on oxygen providers. But- there are homecare oxygen companies who continue to grow and very many who do not have business plans built around reliance on Medicare.

Medical Oxygen Wakeup Cost Reduction C

Several suppliers in the U.S. are now offering innovative remote filling services for truck mounted medical liquid oxygen delivery vessels. A few are actually meeting delivery trucks in the field and providing a sort of “in-flight refueling” service that allows homecare oxygen providers to extend their work day without a trip to their main bulk oxygen supplier for refilling. Other suppliers are going to their homecare liquid oxygen delivery client's sites and filling their trucks after hours so that drivers are able to go straight out on their routes in the mornings.

This is a true “value add” arrangement providing the best of both worlds with increased revenue generated for both the bulk or mini-bulk supplier and the homecare oxygen delivery company getting filled. Granted, there is no free lunch and both parties have cost benefit decisions to make related to return on investment and potentially higher direct costs for liquid oxygen. The potential off-set is savings generated from reducing Waiting Time, Transportation, and Talent wastes.

There is a funny twist for cryogenic tank manufacturers in this Cost Reduction series pointed out by a friend: “The more efficient companies become the less need there is for new delivery vessels.” Sure. This is true. Likewise- the more cost-effectively homecare companies can operate the more viable liquid oxygen remains as a solution for respiratory patients and providers.

Medical Oxygen Wakeup Costs

A bulk medical oxygen provider told me recently about the lines of drivers they have many mornings waiting to get their truck-mounted vessels filled for that day’s delivery runs. Several others confirmed that it is such a trend that a lot of the homecare delivery drivers have purchased personal DVD players to watch movies while they wait in line.

One of the main costs Lean Methods focuses on is “Waiting Time” waste. This situation is amazing if you consider an average work year of about 200 delivery days and the cost not only of waiting, but also getting to the plant, filling and then actually getting out to respiratory oxygen patients. This adds Process, Transportation, and Talent wastes and instantly begs the question of how others might be avoiding or limiting these costs. There were some interesting answers that we’ll explore in greater depth in future posts. They include:

-Use larger cryogenic tanks in trucks to cut down the number of fills required annually;
-Install bulk tanks at depot facilities to avoid going to vendors;
-Acquire larger portable tanks to use for remote depot and field filling;
-Outsource filling services;

Please share other ideas if you have them and we’ll work more on this and a couple of related issues over the next few days.