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November 2004

Thomas M. Oleksy

Rehab Management spoke with Thomas M. Oleksy, president and CEO of The ROHO Group, Belleville, Ill, about the company and the latest industry trends.

Q: What are some of ROHO's popular products?
A: Our popular product for the medical market is the Select series, which includes the Quadtro Select and Contour Select. They both offer therapeutic value, uniform pressure distribution, positioning, and stability. What's unique about the Select series is that it features a patented slide valve in front of the cushion that allows the cushion to perform normally when the valve is in the green position, or enables the cushion to lock the air into four quadrants when the valve is in the red position.

This is beneficial for transfers, where the normal process would be for someone in a wheelchair to lean forward, and then lift themselves out using their arms. With the valve technology in the Select series, leaning forward and locking the valve in place creates a stable base for transfers or other desired seating positions.

Q: What recent trends have you noticed in the industry?
A: The Medicare Modernization Act of October 2003 had some very significant legislation changes. It stated that manufacturers of medical devices (like ROHO) and providers (durable or home medical equipment dealers) will not receive any additional reimbursement from Medicare for these products for the next 5 years. And, in 2007, Medicare will begin introducing, on a selective basis, competitive bidding for products. This has many serious ramifications for manufacturers, service providers, and dealers, who experience a general rise in costs every year.

I fear that with no additional reimbursement, and the introduction of competitive bidding, aspects of production, such as product quality, may suffer as efforts are made to decrease costs. ROHO has stringent guidelines that ensure our products are high quality and safe for our users. With competitive bidding, however, unless the quality specifications are carefully written and upheld, we'll end up with companies producing medical devices made with the cheapest material in the same reimbursement code with high-quality products.

We have dealers who are already faced with this dilemma: do I provide what I know will work best for my customers, or do I maximize the margin for my company? They should go with what's best for the customer, but realistically there are now other considerations.

Q: Who, in your opinion, should be part of the process to set quality standards in place?
A: A combination of government regulators, manufacturers, and third-party safety analysts. Fortunately, the International Organization for Standardization is setting standards for medical seating by developing tests to evaluate the performance of cushions. We need to go beyond this, however, and establish rigorous industry-wide standards that will improve the quality of the medical devices end users will receive, especially as manufacturers, dealers, and service providers make extra efforts to keep their costs down.

-By Arati Murti

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