“The HELiOS™ Personal Oxygen System has been on the market for 14 months and has had phenomenal success rejuvenating and revigorating the liquid oxygen market,” says Daniel Van Hise, director of marketing at Puritan Bennett/Tyco Healthcare, Pleasanton, Calif. Dealer/Provider spoke with Van Hise about product development and the success of the HELiOS system.

Q What is the process of developing a new product at Tyco?
A We take into consideration the focus groups and customer analysis. We do a lot of elaborate upfront market research. We survey the end users of the technology, the distribution channel, and the clinicians that prescribe the technology. After the research phase, we put together a prototype of the product and take it to the marketplace to see that what we heard and what we created match. At that point, we get very good feedback on the design and the feasibility of the product. We then go through the engineering process to develop the product.

Q How long does this process take?
A It is not a quick process and it varies from product to product. Some products can take a number of years from start to finish. Something like a ventilator can take anywhere from 2 to 3 years, and sometimes longer than that. If it is a completely new concept, you are required to do a premarket approval. These technologies can take 5-plus years to bring to the marketplace. Most commonly, the development cycle is 14 to 18 months for products in the home care arena.

Q To what do you attribute the success of the HELiOS Personal Oxygen System?
A We did a good job listening to what end patients needed. We did extensive surveying of the customers, their likes and dislikes, and the inconvenience of living with oxygen in the home, both from the standpoint of the difficulties in having a normal lifestyle with oxygen as well as the embarrassment factor. One of the major concerns that patients have is how they appear with their oxygen system. The HELiOS system was designed around the patients’ need for a long-lasting portable device that was aesthetic and also very economic, both for the patients because they don’t have to worry about a high electric bill...and for the DME company.

Q How does Tyco Healthcare survive the competition within the industry?
A Our name is synonymous with high-quality products, products that have long staying power. We spend a lot of time making sure that the product is safe for the patient and that the product lasts a long time...We have liquid oxygen systems out there that are 10-plus years old and continue to operate as effectively as when they were new. The same thing with our ventilators. We have a lot of ventilators in the home care arena that are over 10 years old. These ventilators are workhorses; they just don’t break down. We also do a very good job of listening to our patients, as well as the DME companies and the physicians, and we create products that really suit [the patients’] needs.

Q What opportunities and products do you predict for the upcoming year?
A Products like continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and bilevel devices are going to be smaller, more ergonomic, lighter, and with very full feature sets at competitive and cost-effective pricing. The drive is certainly on. We’re leading that drive in a lot of ways and we see that happening across the board in terms of all the products that we manufacture. What we are doing now is listening very closely to our customers about their needs, designing products around [those needs], and working with our customers to have a good understanding of the reimbursement issues of Medicare and other insurers. We’re not just a manufacturer. Our sales organization is strategically minded and works very well with the dealers to help them make their businesses more successful.

Michael Hammes joined Sunrise Medical, Carlsbad, Calif, after more than 30 years of senior management experience in the durable goods and the automotive industries. Dealer/ Provider spoke with Hammes, now CEO of Sunrise, about his interest in blending different fields to build a stronger management team.

Q How is Sunrise’s new management team raising standards?
A In terms of the manufacturers, our industry has been closed. There are just a few major competitors. They’re good companies, but they find themselves competing only with themselves, whereas people outside the industry compete with the best Japanese, German, and American companies on quality standards, delivery performance, durability standards, and the ability to handle recalls.

What we want to do is raise the bar for Sunrise, and hopefully for the industry too, in terms of quality, durability, reliability, delivery performance, and technology. We’re bringing in people from the electronic industry, the automotive industry, and the consumer-durable industry and mixing them with people experienced both with Sunrise and with the industry. Hopefully, we will end up with an overall team that will change the standards.

The overriding goal of Sunrise is to improve people’s lives through high-quality innovative products. That comes before financial results, because, in our opinion, if we really change people’s lives through high-quality innovative products, the financial results will just happen. We have two goals, one to raise the standard of the industry in ourselves and second to make sure our vision happens.

Q Did your various background occupations help you develop this management idea?
A Yes. I was the vice chairman and chief operating executive at Black & Decker…that whole background of [competing with foreign and US companies], and bringing together all of the disciplines within a company that really focus on the customer, was enormously helpful. But I’m missing that 15 or 20 years of experience in the rehab business, the standard HME business, and the respiratory business. That’s where Marilyn Hamilton, vice president planning and strategic services, and Michel Papillon, vice president North American sales, come in. By mixing experience like that with my experience, you get a better answer in the end. In that enthusiasm to bring in new talent, you shouldn’t pass by that very necessary ingredient called tradition, history, culture, and experience that you already have inside your company.

Q What is Sunrise’s vision for 2002 and what products can our readers look for?
A Our first fiscal year as a private company, which ended last June, was by far our most successful. In the second year, we can look forward to more of the same. Results are what happens when you do the basic things right. When I look at that first year and a half and what’s been accomplished, I think we can be very proud as a Sunrise team.

Q In October, Sunrise had the first Quickie Wheelchair Sports and Education Clinic hosted at the University of Memphis. Why are events such as this important?
A These types of events are extremely significant in terms of bringing together the community and educating consumers, clinicians, dealers, families, and friends. We strive to touch more consumers’ lives with value-added experiences, whether it is sports, kids, or everyday consumer programs. These events are critical to our culture, critical to what we stand for, and they’re going to become bigger and more important as we move forward.

Medical World Communications Inc, Jamesburg, NJ, announces the promotion of Lonnie Hirsch to president of Practice Builders as part of an ongoing growth strategy for the subsidiary company of MWC. Practice Builders is a professional-practice health care marketing firm.