Starting a Medical Equipment Business

excellent advice. thanks

i need to know how to start a medical rehabilitation center step by step.

I am Pharmacist and I am trying to start a medical supply store and I am looking for information and resources on how to start up medical supply business. Please help?

HOW DO I OPEN A MEDICAL SUPPLY STORE

How do I start medical equipment business from home?

I need info how to start a medical equipment business. i'm in the maryland area the license etc.

First, let me post an introductory message. I have been a consultant in the medical equipment industry for 12 years. Navigating the regulatory mine filed can be overwhelming. My consulting firm offers start-up assistance packages with step by step guidance. I will attempt to offer some helpful suggestions for this journey. You are welcome to contact me directly at deanna.myers@att.net

@projeet - starting a medical equipment business as a home based business will be difficult. Most medical equipment is reimbursable through health insurance coverage and most home medical equipment "patients" that is the end-user have medicare coverage. Medicare, state Medicaid and most of your health insurance carriers DO NOT issue provider numbers or recognize providers that are home based businesses. Wish I had better news. Understand though if you are selling equipment for cash - go for the home based business - but understand that since you cannot offer the option to have insurance reimburse their cost, you will have a difficult times getting sales.

@edithgriffiths - can you provide more detail on this start up? A rehab medical equipment company is definitely a niche market that few undertake, but there are some specific regulations you have to abide by.

@Yusuf Hassanali - I have a number of clients that are pharmacy/hme (home medical equipment companies. You are actually in a unique position! The thing I would tell you is that - you cannot operate the hme side like you operate the pharmacy side. The billing for HME is NOT AT ALL like the billing for pharmacies! You need to decide exactly what you want the HME "division" to bring to your pharmacy. Often I am asked to go in and "fix" a struggling HME "division" because Pharmacy owners know the huge potential of this but do not know how to achieve the end result. From marketing to delivery. I would love to discuss this with you in more detail.

Now for those of you that are simply wanting to know where to begin...there are a number of land mines!

First - do your due diligence and determine exactly what products you want to offer and their profit margins. Some products require more work and you have to keep that in mind - it slims your profit margins. Some product lines pay on a capped rental (kind of like rent to own) over a period of time and you are responsible for the maintenance as long as it is considered a rental.

Second - you must determine which payer sources you will be a provider for. Most (almost all) medical equipment companies are enrolled with Medicare and Medicaid and have private insurance contracts. Now, to obtain a provider number with Medcare you must meet all 26 supplier standards. The biggest, most labor intensive of these being - you must be accredited. There are a number of accrediting bodies but there is a minimum $2,500.00 cost and that is a REALLY low number. You must choose wisely! Most Medicaids are requiring this for new suppliers or will be shortly as well. Most private insurance carriers are requiring this to be considered in-network.

Third - know how to get reimbursed. There are a lot of different softwares out there. Doctor billing software is not conducive to medical equipment billing! Some software is expensive! Some are web-based. I have a strong opinion about the web-based programs. But I will respect what they do and offer and not offer that opinion here. There are billing services that can do your billing for you if you do not want to purchase software right away. Know what they are doing! Make sure what they are reporting to you is enough. Remember, they work for you. Be careful who you choose.

Last - Know your payer sources rules! You must know how to be compliant. There are specific guidelines you must follow. Do not allow someone to tell you how it is done. Make them SHOW you in writing. Don't hire someone that can "run" your company and/or billing department unless you know that they are doing things the compliant way! Do not hire a consultant that just says "do it this way" and cannot SHOW you why! You - the owner - are ultimately responsible for what goes on in the company, so knowing the compliance and regulatory part of this business is imperative! Hope this helps! If you have any further questions or would like further assistance, again you are welcomed to email me at deanna.myers@att.net

Harlingen, Tx. Ms. Myers how can I get a hold of your start up assistance packages with step by step guidance? Please help. Javier