Rehab Management (RM) recently had the opportunity to interview Tom Borcherding, executive vice president of global sales, The ROHO Group Inc, Belleville, Ill.

Rehab Management (RM): How have changes in reimbursements and resulting financial implications affected your business model?

Tom Borcherding, The ROHO Group Inc

Tom Borcherding: ROHO is committed to supporting our provider-based business model, and the cyclical nature of our reimbursement climate will not change this commitment. We have increased our efforts to create demand for our products from clinicians and users; demand that will funnel to our strong ROHO provider network.

RM: What effects do these decisions have on your clients (users, clinicians, providers)?

Borcherding: It is important that clinicians and users understand that high-quality products remain available to them as viable product choices. Users should not be expected to sacrifice performance as a compromise to a reimbursement system, and need to be educated and make their voice heard in the product selection process.

RM: In light of the current economic climate, how do you continue to provide state-of-the-art products, and continue R&D and client education?

Borcherding: ROHO is committed to the users of our products as a long-term business strategy. This "customer-centric" approach is the guiding principle of Robert H. Graebe, the founder and still-active chairman of the company. With this as our driving vision, education, marketing, and product development investments are a constant, not subject to change based upon economic business cycles of our industry. Economics change; the needs of our customers will always remain.

RM: What trends do you see shaping the future of your industry?

Borcherding: We are starting to see the private-pay model evolving, as users and their families realize that certain products are too important to health and lifestyle to accept a compromise based upon the influence of reimbursement.

In addition, I expect that users and their families will become much more involved in the equipment selection process. With reimbursement restrictions threatening to lower the value of equipment offered, users need to become a powerful voice in demanding products that are better than "just good enough."

Regardless of the pressures applied by reimbursement systems, this market will survive and grow because user needs and expectations remain. To be successful, ROHO will remain committed to the users of our products while maintaining flexibility in our business model to meet the financial needs of our provider business partners.

—Rogena Schuyler Silverman