Home Health & Hospice Week

Think you know all about disabilities and the disabled? You're only getting part of the picture.

The disabled community has never been more diverse - and fragmented - than it is now, say experts. People with different complaints are forming smaller sub-groups instead of a larger disability movement, claims Derrick Dufresne, project coordinator with Community Resource Associates in Des Peres, MO. And one of the fastest growing groups of the disabled is people who suffer from repetitive stress injuries, neck pain, back injuries and other work-related injuries.

"I'm not seeing a lot of overarching advocacy groups," Dufresne notes. The Americans With Disabilities Act covers 65 million Americans, but they may have little in common besides the notion of disability. So providers must target smaller groups of disabled people for their services or products.

Fortunately, sufferers from RSIs and other work-related injuries form a very promising target market, say experts. Many RSI sufferers have difficulty with activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing and feeding, and could use help from home health aides. They also need supplies ranging from wrist braces and special keyboards to TENS units and home whirlpools.

A few home medical equipment providers, in particular, have marketed aggressively to the ergonomic market. Dedham, MA-based Alimed offers ergonomic chairs alongside wheelchairs on its Web site at www.alimed.com, plus special cushions, keyboards and glare filters.

"We sell primarily to health care professionals and businesses, so we're not selling that many items directly to the consumer," explains Jon Bretz, Alimed's senior vice president of marketing. Often, companies will buy ergonomic items for employees to comply with the ADA.

Similarly, Melrose Park, IL-based Ultra Care Home Medical sells wrist braces, forearm splints and other products to help with carpal tunnel syndrome and other wrist ailments through its Web site at www.homemedicalstore.com. Other sellers of ergonomic and RSI treatment equipment on the Web offer more big-ticket items such as TENS units and home spa equipment.

"Commercial insurance does pay for some of these items with a doctor's prescription," notes Bruce Callahan, president and CEO of Ultra Care. "Some companies will have a program (where) they will pay for these items if people have developed these types of problems while working. We're doing a real small amount of this right now."

Because the RSI-sufferer population is overwhelmingly Web-literate and not plugged into traditional disability circles, it makes sense to advertise these products via the Web, says consultant Alison Cherney with Nashville, TN-based Cher-ney & Associates. This may be more cost-effective than consumer marketing through media outlets or billboards. The downside is that most customers might need only low-cost items such as braces, as opposed to high-end equipment.

Selling over the Web also makes sense for private pay patients who can pay by credit card.

And many people who are homebound due to disability use the Internet increasingly, according to Michael True with Scotts Valley, CA-based Independent Life Resources. The most important factor in reaching disabled people via the Web is making sure your site is listed on search engines and directories, so when people look for resources for their problem, they find your site.