Amazon has seemingly become the go-to website for ordering almost everything these days. With options like Subscribe and Save and Business Prime, the online retail giant offers a little bit of everything. These expanded retail options have prompted many buyers to switch from traditional sellers to Amazon for goods they use on a regular basis. These goods may even include home care medical supplies and durable medical equipment (DME).
So how can your home healthcare agency (HHA) compete against such a retail giant? Here are some ideas you may find helpful.
Personal Relationship
Amazon sells to the masses. A home healthcare agency sells to patients and caregivers, allowing you to create a personal relationship as a trusted supplier of specialty medical products. As the experts, you know the pros and cons of various products and the usability of different brands. By monitoring the monthly orders, your agency rep can also help anticipate upcoming needs and recommend new products to make the patient more comfortable.
Training and Instruction
Since Amazon is focusing on the selling of many different product brands versus the service, they do not to provide training, instruction or support for the myriad of products that they sell. With experience and expertise in the specific field of home care, you can properly advise the patient or family member when comparing different product brands, and also instruct and train them in the proper application or use of the needed product(s).
Claims Processing
Many home health patients rely on third-party payers for payment of the needed goods and services. In order to receive reimbursement, a claim must be filed with the appropriate carrier. Correct paperwork is vital to accurate claims submission, processing and payment. Your home health agency can file this claim. Amazon doesn't. It's that simple.
Follow-Up
A typical Amazon follow-up consists of asking for a rating and review. Sometimes these requests arrive before the product even gets to its destination. But what about when things go wrong or don't work right? As a home healthcare agency, your goal is to maximize the care provided to each patient. Your staff consistently follows up with the patients and families to check up on the patient's clinical condition and correct any product issues.
Your home health agency can have an edge against even a retail giant like Amazon through developing good personal relationships, having good product knowledge, processing payment claims and providing good follow-up.
Concordance Healthcare Solutions is positioned to provide similar services to you. We pride ourselves on developing personal relations with our HHA customers, having a sound understanding of the products we sell, being flexible in our delivery options and having a whole toolbox of value-added provider solutions to help enhance your bottom line.