Paperless solutions will revolutionize the industry, says Esther Apter, CEO, of Medforce Technologies, Monsey, NY. Dealer/Provider spoke with Apter about how Medforce Technologies can help providers enhance efficiency and improve profitability.

How does being paperless impact the industry?
Apter: Paperless solutions will enhance and revolutionize the industry just as fax machines, email, and the Internet have in the past couple of decades. Our industry generates a lot of paper and should have gone paperless years ago! Each patient generates at least 10 documents, each claim at least three to four. Going paperless is probably the best way to improve efficiency and save much needed revenue and time. These savings then become additional resources to collect more of the A/R and grow the company.

How does Medicare view auditing in the paperless environment?
Apter: The Medicare program integrity manual 5.1.1.4 (chapter 5, page 5 on the online manual at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/manuals/108_pim/-pim83c05.pdf   states, “The DMERC must accept a copy of an electronically maintained document” for audit purposes. In case of a fraud investigation they may require that the provider validate the authenticity of the document. Many providers are still keeping documents with original signatures such as CMNs pending further clarification by CMS on how to validate the documents stored electronically. It is not necessary to keep patient-specific files on-site, as long as the imaging system provides tools to easily locate the physical document.

How does being paperless improve profitability?
Apter: Improvement is derived from decreases in costs and increases in productivity. The decrease in filing cost will vary depending on the system selected. The increase in productivity is a result of being able to immediately access documents from the user’s desk. Documents can’t be lost or misplaced and time is not wasted searching for or refiling documents, thus more productive work can be done in the same amount of time. Department of Labor statistics indicate paper management costs between 25 and 30 cents per document. Imaging is a fraction of that cost.

Among HME providers, what are the misconceptions about going paperless?
Apter: They assume their operations are so integrated with paper flow that going paperless will complicate procedures and require changes to the way they do business. Their misconception is that going paperless is a complex and cumbersome procedure; as complex as the decision to switch billing software. Another misconception is that they will have to keep duplicate paper and electronic files. Going paperless with the right solution does not require duplicate filing, is easy, and will simplify operations.

What is the nature of your new business arrangement with the American Association for Homecare?
Apter: We partnered with AAHomecare to offer a discount to their membership to encourage the transition to the electronic and paperless environment. We are proud to be associated with AAHomecare.

James Consolidated Inc is the manufacturer of The Voelkner Turning System, a powered mattress overlay, designed by Dr Helmut Voelkner, for the prevention and treatment of pressure sores. Dealer/Provider spoke to Dr Voelkner, recipient of the Gold Medal in 1984 at the Technical Exposition in Nuremberg, Germany, for his invention of the “Lamellen-Drehbett nach Dr Voelkner” or The Voelkner Turning System, about his invention and the impact it has made.

What are the biggest obstacles you faced in introducing the Voelkner Turning System and how did you overcome these obstacles?
Voelkner: The greatest difficulties with the introduction [in Germany] of our new System for the prevention and treatment of all stages of pressure sores were:

• The lack of science in regard to the subject of decubitus
• The lack of knowledge by doctors and nursing personnel about the connections relative to the formation of a pressure sore
• The lack of suitable materials for the manufacture of the System
• The limitation of the System’s functions by way of the air pump with fewer possibilities, because computerized techniques were just being developed.
• The innovation of our lateral rotation principle, which stood in contrast to the alternating pressure principle, and the age-old fact that it is very difficult for the “new”to replace the “old.”

The product line that carries my name has not yet been able to get properly established in Germany. I see here a parallel to similar incidents in the past like Carl Ludwig Schleich, the inventor of local anesthesia, who was sneered at in Germany, and was later recognized by American dentists, who first accepted this method. These methods finally came back to my homeland after many years. This also occurred in the case of the inventor of minimal invasive surgery, a professor from Kiel, who tried unsuccessfully to convince his colleagues of the value of his methods. When he was confronted with rejection, he went to the United States and trained physicians there in his methods, which then finally found acceptance in Germany.

How has the Voelkner product line expanded since it was introduced 21 years ago?
Voelkner: In regard to the product line of the Voelkner Turning System, the California-based company, James Consolidated Inc, has further developed and improved my original ideas, and I hope that this System will in the near future also get the attention it deserves in Germany.

What impact has the Voelkner Turning System had on home care?
Voelkner: The System opened up new possibilities for caregivers to successfully oppose pressure sores both prophylactically and therapeutically. The System helped to point out useless means and to ban them from everyday use in patient care. In addition, it fostered more thoughts devoted to the theoretical aspects of pressure sores. The greatest benefit I personally saw was that our immobile patients were able to experience movement on their own—even though only passively—which gave them a minimum of bodily sensations.

Every product manufacturer wants to put out a quality product while maintaining an affordable price, but the balance is difficult to find. Dealer/Provider magazine spoke to Sean Farley, CEO, Discount Carts & Racks, Simi Valley, Calif, about his company’s efforts to distribute quality products at affordable prices.

How does Discount Carts & Racks maintain the balance of delivering quality products while maintaining low cost?
Farley: Discount Carts & Racks focuses on product design. We have over 30 unique products, which are all designed to drive out manufacturing costs. Our products are all strong, reliable, attractive, and affordable. We feel our products are the best designed and priced products on the market.

What does Discount Carts & Racks keep in mind when developing products?
Farley: We keep our customers needs and requirements in mind when designing new products. We know our customers need a low cost functional solution to their cylinder transportation and delivering needs. We understand the importance of properly storing oxygen cylinders, and we understand the cut throat industry we are in. We try and give our customers the best possible product price no matter what quantity they purchase.

How would you describe Discount Carts & Racks’ marketing strategy, and what has been the response to the company’s efforts?
Farley: Our marketing strategy is simple and straightforward. We want to get our catalogs in every DME provider’s hands. Our prices are published for a reason; we are not hiding anything. We want our customers to compare our products and prices with our competitors. In many cases our products are half the price and twice the product than that of our competitors.

What do providers say about your products?
Farley: Our customers frequently call back and thank us for our products. We have many repeat customers, and their appreciation of the work we do for them makes our jobs worth everything.