Business

Recently, HME News sat down with Miriam Lieber from Lieber Consulting LLC to discuss succession planning. When and how should businesses start thinking about a succession plan? Miriam's advice? Start planning well in advance. Start skill building with an identified core group of staff. Teach and train leadership techniques to the most talented staff members. Create goals and metrics and communicate them to be able to gauge how well team members are able to perform and measure up to expectations.

DME suppliers are currently preparing for Competitive Bid Round 2021. Only certain product categories are included in competitive bid. Please note, this is the first round for off the shelf back and knee braces to be competitively bid.  Bidder registration period and the bid window will likely open in June 2019 (this date may change).  EW members who are planning to participate in this current round of bidding, prepare now. VGM has put together tools to help our members go through

This article comprises the second in a series of four that looks at the benefits of outsourcing the four financial functions of Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Payroll, and Financial Planning and Analysis. Our first article, on accounts receivable, noted how outsourced personnel bring IT, financial, and customer service expertise to a growing firm that otherwise would have to discover that expertise on its own or hire a more expensive but still unnecessary full-time employee. For

A “loan closet” is the same thing as a “consignment arrangement”…which is the same thing as a “stock and bill arrangement.” A DME supplier can have a loan closet with a hospital, physician, wound care center, and other providers. Recently, Medtrade featured an article focused on a loan closet between a DME supplier and a hospital. However, the discussion in this article also applies to loan closets with other types of providers. Medtrade covers

What is your succession plan? Do you have a basic plan outlined if a key staff member would suddenly be gone? Miriam Lieber, a speaker at 2019 Focus Conference, recently outlined some key steps that every business owner, regardless if they are a retailer, HME provider, mastectomy business, or anything in between should follow. Make sure your business has a succession plan in place. Identify key staff in your business and train or cross-train to prepare for them to either take over the business in

Traditional DME marketing relies heavily on print collateral to reach new customers, but digital channels can be very beneficial in customer acquisition. Though the average DME customer may skew older than the general population it would be a mistake to assume that senior consumers aren’t on the internet! The PEW Research Center reports that 67% of seniors over 65 use the internet and 42% of seniors own smartphones (this number is much higher for more affluent seniors) – up from 18% only

By Clint Geffert, President, VGM & Associates It’s hard to believe that we are well into the first quarter of 2019. In this industry, we blink and another year is behind us. At VGM, we experienced many examples last year that truly illustrate productive change. Forward movement in technology, providers dipping their toes in the waters of opportunity, and engagement at all levels continue to come together to take care of America’s post-acute patients. We entered 2018 with continued

No matter the size of a business, outsourcing AR (accounts receivable) is useful in many aspects. Growth-oriented businesses may not yet require a full-time AR clerk or analyst; enterprise-sized organizations may need to rapidly scale up their accounting departments during busy times of the year. Either way, finding the talent you need, when you need it is a powerful tool for any business.  In this series, we will publish four articles detailing why a business may want to outsource

When it comes to social media success, personalized posts can make all the difference. Today, we examine a mastectomy company in Texas and how staying active on their social media and utilizing personal photos contributed to an increase in engagement, impressions and page likes! The following will detail four different ways that Women’s Health Boutique dominated healthcare social media through VGM Forbin’s Social 2.0 program. Read the full case study from VGM Forbin.  

Nice work! You dissected the numbers, collected customer feedback, and detected the products your customers want and need. Now, you are ready to bring on a new vendor that fits into the mold of what your buyer is looking for. So, let’s get down to business! Condition 1: Margins All business owners aspire to make the most profit in their operations. In addition, most businesses understand that product is the most important item on a P&L statement. It’s one of our highest costs