At Home with Dealers

• By J. Daniel Hull, Jay Williams
• May 01, 2005

Taking Pride in the Community

Company Name: Hytech Homecare and Retail Pharmacy (An Omnicare Company) Location/Contact Info: 8909 East Ave. Mentor, Ohio 44060 Ph: 800-325-1356; e-mail Gene Andrews at [email protected]

Established: In 1980 as Lake County Convalescent Services and Supplies before becoming Hytech Homecare in 1995. Hytech Homecare and Hytech Retail Pharmacy merged and became wholly owned by Omnicare Inc. in 1998.

Types of products sold:

Adult and pediatric home medical equipment, home respiratory care equipment and services inclusive of home mechanical ventilation and apnea monitoring programs. CPAP/BiLevel equipment, pulse oximetry studies, asthma and COPD disease management, retail pharmacy offering specialized pharmacy service, enteral therapy equipment/nutritionals, hospital beds, specialty mattress systems, wheelchairs, walking aides and bathroom safety equipment.

Size of Company:60 employees. Management team (see photo) has 165 combined years of HME, clinical and management experience.

Hytech Homecare specializes in respiratory care and maintains an extensive product line. Home Health Productsspoke with the company's President, Gene Andrews.

Q: Tell us about your products.

A: Our high volume items are inclusive of tailored oxygen systems based upon respiratory therapist assessments, CPAP fittings and setups by respiratory therapists and Aerosol/Unit dose setups.

Q: What is working well for you?

A: We have an in-house respiratory clinic, which is much more convenient for many patients and easier to schedule for our therapists--thereby increasing our productivity and efficiency.

Q: What is unusual/unique about the store?

A: Hytech Homecare has earned the Quality Respiratory Care Recognition from the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) for providing quality respiratory care services to their patients and community. Hytech Homecare was recognized as placing third nationally by RemitDATA (a nationally recognized reimbursement management program) in 2004 for its combined Medicare denial rate and DSO average in the HME/HIT Industry.

Q: Tell us about Hytech's community involvement.

A: Hytech Homecare staff members take pride in our commitment to our community. Through participation in the Walk for Asthma, bake sales and potluck luncheon fundraisers, we offer continual support to charities such as Clothe a Child, Make a Wish, Ronald McDonald House, Jr. Diabetes, Harvest for Hunger and the Troops in Iraq. Everyone enjoys sharing recipes and good eats in the spirit of helping those in need.

Q:Describe your relationship with your manufacturers.

A:Hytech Homecare has historically had a close working relationship with many of the primary manufacturers. We have participated in research projects with a number of manufacturers and have presented nine abstracts to the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC).

Q: Do you think the HME industry is changing? What are some trends you have noticed?

A: Absolutely. Reimbursement cuts are forcing dealers to be much more prudent in the way they do business. HMEs should always be looking around the corner for new technologies--or be left behind by the competition. In some aspects it appears that the HME industry must look directly to the end user, demonstrating consumer awareness of the new technology. This is being steered by equipment manufacturers via TV commercial ad campaigns. Consumers and patients are requesting these state-of-the-art items regardless of cost--and any associated reimbursement from insurance providers. To say that balancing the provision of the most appropriate (clinically indicated) and convenient piece of equipment with good business is a challenge, is an understatement to say the least. For example, some oxygen systems are not appropriate for all patients, even when designed to enhance a patient's mobility and travel. Hytech Homecare's policy is to provide all our patients the freedom and convenience to go where they want, when they want, while assuring clinical appropriateness.

Fun Fact: For the Asthma walk the Billing Department named their team "493.30", which is the diagnosis code for asthma. Hytech has raised more than $3,700 over the past year for the aforementioned charities.

This article originally appeared in the May 2005 issue of HME Business.