During last week's Home Care Marketing Accelerator webinar, we had a good discussion about how to properly make a sales call (in person, or virtual). One of the items that came up, and almost always does, is "How long should a sales call take"? While there is no specific answer to the amount of time it should take, it's clear who should drive the duration of the sales call....and here's a hint: It's not you. You must be prepared to talk to your referral source and get your key point across in 60-90 seconds. In many cases that's all the time you're going to get....either because of attention span or actual time available. Now, there are times when a referral source might want to settle in and

Many of us appreciate social media, especially while sheltering at home. It is a convenient way to stay in touch with others and to obtain information. But…care is needed! A reminder: healthcare providers cannot share information about patients on social media without first securing their permission. Further, information cannot be posted on social media that allows for patient identification, even if patients are unnamed. The best practice is not to post any patient information online at all. For instance, the CEO/President of a Western Kentucky hospice was recently suspended as a result of her Facebook posts. According to members of the hospice’s board of directors, the CEO/President

I got to "get out on the road" over the past couple weeks to work in person with some new clients. I can't tell you how exciting it was to be in a real room with real people again! Here are a couple of things that I learned. People may welcome you in if they know you, but only once - In one of my sessions I had a rep who was brand new to his agency, but had been in a different area of homecare for the past 5 years. When I asked him "How many of your former referral source offices were you able to walk into?" his answer surprised me...."All of them". With COVID still raging in a number of areas around the country I found it fascinating that one rep could have all doors open to him. His follow

According to a July 23, 2020, press release, Progenity, Inc., fraudulently overbilled Medicaid and the VA by using a billing code that misrepresented the tests performed. Fraud enforcers also claim that Progenity provided illegal kickbacks in the form of excessive fees to physicians, meals and happy hours for physicians and their staff members, and improper reductions or waivers of patients’ coinsurance and deductible payments. The “price tag” for Progenity: $49 million! Enforcement action was taken against Progenity by multiple state and federal health care programs; including the VA, various state Medicaid Programs, TRICARE, and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. FIRST LESSO

Are you struggling to figure out the correct "mix" of sales interactions with your referral sources? You're not alone. Reps across the country are still experimenting with how to effectively communicate and sell to key referral sources. We've devised the COVID Sales Pyramid to help. As you can see, the top of the pyramid is your in person (face to face) selling. It's at the top because it is the most impactful, yet available to use in very limited opportunities. When you get these interactions it is a must to have a plan to move the relationship forward, because you may not get another chance for weeks or months. The middle of the pyramid is your "active communication"...that is, communicati

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the primary enforcer of fraud and abuse prohibitions, posted Advisory Opinion No. 15-12 on August 13, 2015, which makes it clear that agencies may provide “introductory” or coordination visits to patients in their homes and elsewhere. In this Advisory Opinion, a for-profit home health agency (HHA) provides services to patients whose care is paid for by the Medicare, Medicaid and other federal health care programs. According to the agency, a physician or a discharge planner/case manager presents a list of HHAs to patients who may benefit from home health services. After patients choose agencies to pro