Michael Hammes

Dealer/Provider spoke with Michael Hammes, chairman and CEO of Sunrise Medical, Longmont, Colo, and Robert Hoover, MD, the recently appointed senior vice president of global clinical services, Sunrise Medical, about communication between manufacturers, clinicians, providers, and third-party payors.

Robert Hoover

DP: How is Sunrise working to bridge the gap between manufacturers, clinicians, providers, and payors?
Hammes: We have to get deeper into the health care industry to understand what physicians are trying to accomplish. By bringing Dr Hoover on board to help work with the health care industry, we can better understand what physicians are trying to achieve and make sure our products actually accomplish the same goal. We think that is going to benefit all of us—vendors, dealer/providers, government, and third-party payors.

One of our major customers, a dealer/provider in the respiratory arena, is frustrated with both the physician community and the third-party payor community. Providers are looking for a world-class person like Dr Hoover who can understand all sides of the equation and bring us together.

DP: With the hiring of Dr Hoover, what internal changes will take place at Sunrise?
Hammes: We need to better understand what the health care system really needs from products. You can’t simply go to them and ask, “What do you want?” That is one way, but it is better to understand where they are trying to drive to and then have Dr Hoover get deep into our product development process so that as we develop new products, they are truly reflective of what the health care community is looking for.

DP: How can providers better communicate with physicians?
Hoover: There are basic things providers can do to raise awareness of the physician community. Physicians every day deal with a host of colleagues that do things as simple as send them a letter when a patient has been referred to them. When a medical equipment supplier gets a letter from a physician, it would be easy to send a letter back in a similar format that provides clinical information about the patient. That is simple, and it gets your name back in front of the physician. Also, it provides clinical information that is typically kept in the patient’s chart. This information closes the loop between the physician who has written an order—and who has a clinical record of what is going on—and the provider who services the patient and provides that physician with feedback.

Barry Long

Specific mobility markets continue to grow more than others depending on product demand. Dealer/Provider spoke with Barry Long, director of marketing and sales, Magic Wheels Inc, Seattle, about how his company caters to mobility markets that are on the rise.

DP: What areas of the market are growing?
Long: The manual wheelchair market is making new strides to refocus attention back on user independence and ease of mobility. There are some really exciting new manual wheelchair designs coming from both the smaller wheelchair companies as well as the market share leaders.

DP: How is your company catering to those markets?
Long: Magic WheelsTM 2-geared wheelchair wheels increase both independence and mobility. Our wheels have no batteries or motors and can be adapted to fit most manual wheelchairs. We are catering to both the active users as well as those who just need a little assistance getting up and down simple ramps.

We currently have a group of wheelchair “test pilots” who have given us great feedback. For example, hill holding was brought to our attention as a way to limit strain on shoulders, so we incorporated that feature. We have also developed a new Double Handrim option, which, when put on Magic Wheels, gives the user a true four-speed wheelchair wheel.

DP: Why are Magic Wheels better than standard WC wheels?
Long: Magic Wheels work similar to a two-speed bicycle which allows users to shift into a lower gear, making it twice as easy to push. By shifting an easy lever on each wheel, users have a 50% easier push, causing much less strain on the upper body when climbing hills and ramps or when rolling over uneven terrain. In low gear, these wheels have automatic hill holding so users won’t roll backward between pushes.

DP: What is your vision for the company?
Long: Our hope is that Magic Wheels become a standard option on all new wheelchairs as well as an aftermarket product to fit on any existing wheelchairs. I myself am a 15-year post T6 paraplegic and have been using Magic Wheels consistently for more than 9 months. They decrease the strain on my shoulders, and my personal favorite is the hill holding feature. My wife and I just had twins, and since I don’t have to surge up hills any longer, I can carry them on my lap without worrying about them flying off between each push while going up the ramp in my house.