There were lots of products to be seen and deals to be made at the recent Las Vegas Medtrade Show that ran March 27-29 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. The theme was “Focus” and that’s exactly what many of the attendees did at both the educational conference sessions and on the show floor at the exhibit hall.

When attendees were asked what the biggest “wow factor” was for them, many cited the conferences on audits and compliance, competitive bidding and strategic planning as being the most useful.  “Absolutely fantastic; I learned a ton,” said one DME attendee who traveled from Louisiana to sharpen her audit preparation skills.

Medtrade Las Vegas 2018 attracted 165 exhibitors, and many new products were on display to catch the eye of DMEs looking for new cash products to offer.

Total exhibit time was cut by three hours compared to previous Las Vegas Medtrade shows but exhibitors didn’t seem to mind; the shorter hours allowed many of them to save time and travel expenses by catching earlier flights back home.  And attendees found more time to visit the educational conference sessions that started a full day before the exhibit hall opened.

Medtrade Spring 2018 attendees voted on their favorite new products in the long-running New Product Pavilion Providers’ Choice Awards, sponsored by HomeCare Magazine.  Winners were:

NEW PRODUCT PAVILION PROVIDERS’ CHOICE GOLD

FLYP Nebulizer pe1200m by Convexity Scientific Inc., Fairfield CT — FLYP is described by company officials as a “game-changing, pocket-portable nebulizer” prescribed by physicians for respiratory conditions such as asthma and COPD.  Use is reported to be as simple as “fill, click, breathe.”

NEW PRODUCT PAVILION PROVIDERS’ CHOICE SILVER

X-top for Men by McAirlaid’s Inc., Rocky Mount, VA — Specifically designed for the male anatomy, X-top for Men provides 360-degree leak-proof protection, for any activity, day or night, giving users all day peace of mind from wetness.

NEW PRODUCT PAVILION PROVIDERS’ CHOICE BRONZE

Werth Folding Walker Storage Rack by Werth, LLC, Grand Rapids, MI — The Werth Folding Walker Storage Rack holds walkers individually, allowing for quick and easy selection and removal. Leg height and brakes can be adjusted while the walker remains in a racked position, allowing for sanitary and efficient modification.

Medtrade Las Vegas garnered both positive and negative reviews from exhibitors.

Jon Schultz, sales director for OxyGo® POCs and Applied Home HealthCare Equipment in Westlake, OH, reported strong interest in his company’s line of POC products that are noted for their compact size, long life battery and light weight.  One of the most talked about hits at the show was a beam robot displayed in the OxyGo booth. The robot connected personnel in the Cleveland home office with attendees on the show floor. It could be controlled from Cleveland to wander into the aisles and greet attendees.  Jon also reported strong interest in a second company booth that showed how to get oxygen cylinders for less than a dollar, cut delivery costs and meet oxygen compliance requirements.

David Pendarvis, ResMed’s Chief Administrative Officer and Global General Counsel, said he had not seen the show’s final traffic report but estimated the Las Vegas 2018 Medtrade show had less traffic than previous Las Vegas shows he had attended.  He advocated for consolidating the Atlanta and Las Vegas Medtrade Shows into just one show a year that would alternate between Las Vegas and Atlanta.

Dean Glazer with Allegheny Answering Service, Pittsburgh, PA, said the quality of the leads he received was outstanding and called Medtrade Las Vegas a great show that met his expectations both days.

Frankie Kleiman with Zensah, Hollandale Beach, FL, a compression technology company offering a full line of compression sleeves, compression socks and elbow sleeves, gave the show a strong recommendation.  He was a first-time exhibitor who plans to exhibit at the next Atlanta Medtrade show scheduled for October 2018.

Michele Wanous, a billing specialist for the Good Shepherd Home Health Care system, Hermiston, OR, represented a typical attendee.  She came to the show to find new products that would enhance the health of the Hermiston community. Michele gave the show high marks.  She was particularly interested in seeing the latest CPAP and oxygen products. The product that most caught her eye was a bed from Aurora MFG, Concord, NC that featured fluidized air bed technology to help prevent patient bed sores.

One of the best-attended conference sessions was focused on cyber security.

Healthcare is projected to be the most-targeted industry for cyber thieves in 2018.  The session was presented by Carol Albaugh, Secure Tech Consultant at The VGM Group and Solomon Smith, Chief Operations Officer for ProCircular, a security consulting firm based in Coralville, IA.

Attendees were brought up-to-date on why healthcare companies are considered plum targets for hackers.  This is because HME/DME operations often store sensitive patient credit card data, along with patient Social Security and Medicare information.

This data can fetch as much as $100 or more per patient in criminal circles.  Recent stats show that 72% of all cyber attacks are made on companies with less than 100 employees because those companies are the easiest to crack.  Their cyber security defense efforts are often not sufficiently funded to be effective in preventing cyber theft. The average cyber attack will cost a company about $188,000.  Statistics show that 81% of successful cyber attacks result from weak passwords or stolen passwords.

The next Medtrade Conference and Expo will be held this coming October 15-17 at Atlanta’s World Congress Center.  Medtrade events are run by Emerald Expositions, San Juan Capistrano, CA.