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HME Dealer
Rolls Out Program to
Caputure Sleep Disorders Market
by Elizabeth
Beaulieu
OKLAHOMA CITY,
Okla – A local HME dealer with
plans to become a national
player in the sleep disorders
market has made moves to roll
out a program to help HMEs and
other healthcare providers set
up sleep labs.
Breathing
Disorders Services recently
merged sales and marketing
departments with its sister
company, StartSmart. As a
result, the HME has terminated
its relationship with a public
relations firm to hire a chief
marketing officer and has
contracted with 3Ci, a
speciality sales organization,
to sell the idea of setting up
sleep labs. The moves are
intended to enhance the
companies’ distribution of its
sleep products and programs,
said an official company
spokesperson.
an official spokesperson said it
behooves HMEs and other
healthcare providers to set up
the labs because it allows them
to diversity their offerings
while maximizing revenue on a
minimal investment. He said
StartSmart sets up the lab,
trains its respiratory
therapists and gives them all
they need to run the program,
including equipment such as
nasal CPAP devices.
The price tag
for the program: less than
$3,500, an official spokesperson said.
StartSmart also
provides support once the
program is up and running for a
nominal fee, an official spokesperson said.
an official spokesperson said the
sleep market holds great
potential. He said with 95% of
people with obstructive sleep
apnea undiagnosed and nearly 18
million people suffering from
the disease, and nearly 40
million people suffering from
sleep disorders in general, the
customer base is huge. Also,
waiting lists at most
metropolitan sleep programs run
four to six weeks long.
an official spokesperson said
about 10% to 15% of StartSmart’s
business so far has been with
HME providers. He said if HME
providers don’t want to set up
their own sleep labs, they
should encourage their local
hosptials to set them up. He
said hospitals that set up labs
would then turn to them for
treatment equipment.
Breathing Disorders Services and
StartSmart also have plans to up
their management team even more
and acquire a handful of sleep
companies across the country.
an official spokesperson said they are looking to
acquire sleep companies that are
contracted by hospitals and HME
companies that focus on nasal
CPAPs and bilevel products.
HME
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