Details the benefits on online channels in the care of Sleep Apnea and CPAP users by CPAP.com and CPAPtalk.com. Talk given to the Montana Sleep Society Sept 23rd 2010.

1. © U.S. Expediters 2010
© U.S. Expediters 2010
Internet Informed
Patients Are A Good
Thing
Johnny Goodman
Co-Founder + General Manager
CPAP.com
Tuesday, June 18, 13

2. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Who Are They?
What Do They Do?
Why Is What They Do Good?
Why Do Patients Struggle?
What CanYou Do?
Tuesday, June 18, 13

3. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Who Are They?
Tuesday, June 18, 13

4. © U.S. Expediters 2010
The Internet Patient
Tuesday, June 18, 13

5. © U.S. Expediters 2010
The Internet Patient
Tuesday, June 18, 13

6. © U.S. Expediters 2010
The Internet Patient
Tuesday, June 18, 13

7. © U.S. Expediters 2010
The Internet Patient
Tuesday, June 18, 13

8. © U.S. Expediters 2010
The Internet Patient
Tuesday, June 18, 13

9. © U.S. Expediters 2010
The Internet Patient
Tuesday, June 18, 13

10. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Beliefs
• I Am My Own Best Healthcare Advocate
• Open Discussions Good, Censorship Bad
• If The System Doesn’t Help, Go Around
• Learn By Stories of Other’s Experiences
• Learn By Trial and Error or “Lab Ratting”
• Help Newbies / Pay It Forward
Tuesday, June 18, 13

11. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Themes
• I Will Not Give Up, I Will Make This Work
• I Am Doing This For My Family
• I Will Choose, Give Me Tools That Help
• I Will Learn, Surround Me In Community
• I Seek And Share Sleep Performance Data
• I Use Humor To Cope With Challenges
• I Buy From Companies I Feel Good About
Tuesday, June 18, 13

12. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Support Quotes
“Thanks to this site and a very good doctor who took
the time to answer ALL of my questions, I can finally see
the light at the end of the tunnel...AND IT’S NOT A
TRAIN!!” - fireman38355
“That’s constructive whining. It is allowed,
even encouraged.” - jnk
“One year ago today... I started CPAP therapy.. So for
those newbies just hosing up, stick with it.You can do it!”
- Rustyolddude
Tuesday, June 18, 13

13. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Honest Feelings
“Singles, XPAP obvious at night or do you hide it until
you get to know and trust your date? -new2
“Quite truthfully, I am scared.” - snuginarug
Tuesday, June 18, 13

14. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Humor
A Mattress For Side Sleepers
Tuesday, June 18, 13

15. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Humor
The Sleep Apnea Fairy
Tuesday, June 18, 13

16. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Humor
CPAP Mask Decoration Contest
Tuesday, June 18, 13

17. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Humor
Bagpipes!
Tuesday, June 18, 13

18. © U.S. Expediters 2010
What Do They Do?
Tuesday, June 18, 13

19. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Shop (Online and Offline)
Tuesday, June 18, 13

20. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Shop (Online and Offline)
• The Internet Is A Communications Medium
• Most People Buy From Local Providers
• The Traditional System Is Here To Stay
• PatientsValue Personal Care
• You Guys Take Insurance,We Don’t
• 3% Of A Big Number Is Still A Big Number!
Tuesday, June 18, 13

21. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Create Product Trends
Types of Machines
Tuesday, June 18, 13

22. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Create Product Trends
What Is The Most Popular APAP For Those Paying Cash?
Tuesday, June 18, 13

23. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Create Product Trends
How Well Is The Market Accepting An Upgraded Product?
Tuesday, June 18, 13

24. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Solve Product Problems
Build and Sell CPAP Accessories
Tuesday, June 18, 13

25. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Solve Product Problems
Build and Sell CPAP Accessories
Tuesday, June 18, 13

26. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Solve Product Problems
Build and Sell CPAP Accessories
Tuesday, June 18, 13

27. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Solve Product Problems
Build and Sell CPAP Accessories
Tuesday, June 18, 13

28. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Build Community
Tuesday, June 18, 13

29. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Build Community
CPAPtalk.com Main PageView
Tuesday, June 18, 13

30. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Build Community
Fresh Topics Daily
Tuesday, June 18, 13

31. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Build Community
CPAPtalk.com Activity Stats
• Half A Million Posts
• 77,000 UniqueVisitors Each Month
• 51,000+ Members
• Growth Continues To Accelerate!
Tuesday, June 18, 13

32. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Build Community
Benefits To Patients
• Breaks Down Stigmas
• Social Structure of Encouragement
• Engaged Patients = Successful Patients
• Meet People Who Have Fought And Won
• 24/7 Access To A Sleep Group
Tuesday, June 18, 13

33. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Make Encyclopedias?!?
You Betcha!
Tuesday, June 18, 13

34. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Make Encyclopedias?!?
CPAPtalk Wiki - Like Wikipedia But For CPAP
Tuesday, June 18, 13

35. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Make Encyclopedias?!?
What’s A Wiki?
• An Encyclopedia Anyone Can Edit
• A Community Log Of Accepted Knowledge
• An Easy Way For Newbies To Learn
• A Great Quick Reference
Tuesday, June 18, 13

36. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Blog
• Mile High Sleeper
• http://smart-sleep-apnea.blogspot.com/
• Joe Rogan’s Sleep Apnea Diagnosis Blog
• http://blog.joerogan.net/archives/215
• Ed Grandi’s Sleep Apnea Blog
• http://www.sleepapneaed.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, June 18, 13

37. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Evaluate Products
• Would you buy a dishwasher without
reading reviews? All it does is dishes...
• Would you buy a car without reading
reviews? All it does is drive...
• CPAPs help you breathe.That’s important!
• Better Product Decisions Through Data
• Better Products Decisions = Compliance
Tuesday, June 18, 13

38. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Evaluate Products
What Do Others Who Have Used This Say?
Tuesday, June 18, 13

39. © U.S. Expediters 2010
CPAP.com Customer Reviews
Evaluate Products
Tuesday, June 18, 13

40. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Evaluate Products
Product Challenge: Consumer Reports For CPAP Equipment
Tuesday, June 18, 13

41. © U.S. Expediters 2010
• Competing Products Are Selected
• Patient Enrollment and Screening
• Trial Period
• Voting Period
• Results Published and Advertised
The Product Challenge In A Nutshell
Evaluate Products
Tuesday, June 18, 13

42. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Evaluate Products
PatientsVote On Quality
Tuesday, June 18, 13

43. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Evaluate Products
Product Challenge Average Category Rankings
SoftGel ComfortGel
Tuesday, June 18, 13

44. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Evaluate Products
Product Challenge Individual Reviews
Tuesday, June 18, 13

45. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Why Is What They Do
Good?
Tuesday, June 18, 13

46. © U.S. Expediters 2010
• Patients driven tools > industry driven tools
• Build tools for how people are, not how we
want them to be
• “I don’t want TVs in patient rooms, but at
home I need my TV on to go to sleep”
• Good support is personal, relevant and
occasionally quite messy
Do As I Say, Not As I Do
Build What Is Needed
Tuesday, June 18, 13

47. © U.S. Expediters 2010
• Cottage Industry Of Equipment Solutions To:
• Equipment Adjustment Period
• Leaky Masks
• Red Marks
• Sliding Headgears
• Many, many more covered tomorrow...
Custom Products Patch Gaps In Big Mfg Offerings
Build What Is Needed
Tuesday, June 18, 13

48. © U.S. Expediters 2010
• Support forums are always on - 24/7/365
• Veteran Internet Patients:
• Love encouraging people
• Love sharing their experiences
• Love paying it forward
Leveraging The Internet’s Power
Huge Resource Pool
Tuesday, June 18, 13

49. © U.S. Expediters 2010
• Communities provide:
• An “always learning” mindset
• The latest news and equipment offerings
• An incentive to compete on good health
• An incentive to learn, share and be
respected
• A way to spend time very meaningfully
Sleep Apnea Is Not Set And Forget
Keep Patients Engaged
Tuesday, June 18, 13

50. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Why Do Patients Struggle?
Tuesday, June 18, 13

51. © U.S. Expediters 2010
What Internet Patients Want
• Custom Care
• A Less Cumbersome Diagnostic Experience
• Equipment That “Just Works”
• Support Communities
• Professional
• Peer Group
• To Be Respected and Listened To
Tuesday, June 18, 13

52. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Billing Codes :-(
What Internet Patients Get
Tuesday, June 18, 13

53. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Billing Codes Are Bad
Patient Billing Code Expectations
• Insurance is magic. It covers everything.
• Billing is something my provider handles and
worries about.
• If a provider doesn’t cover it, it must because
they don’t care or “don’t get it”
• When the codes and my needs get cross
threaded, you should discard the codes
Tuesday, June 18, 13

54. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Billing Codes Are Bad
They Take Power Away From Front Lines Care Givers
• They set down rules that force patients and
providers into a “this is how its done” box
• They disallow care giver independent
decision making or discretion
• They emphasize compliance over efficacy
• Rigid codes ensure that the collections
department is bigger than the care
department
Tuesday, June 18, 13

55. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Billing Codes Are Bad
They Make Product Quality Far Less Relevant
• No two CPAPs are the same
• Yet they pay the same for any E0601 device
• Patient opinion and device effectiveness
aren’t driving the system
• “Best” is now lowest cost certified product
• Removing the patient weakens the process
Tuesday, June 18, 13

56. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Billing Codes Are Bad
They Penalize Risk Taking and New Ideas
• Regulations are ambiguous and ever changing
• Effort goes into keeping up with regulations
instead of trying new things
• Have a good idea?You must convince the
billing code gate keepers that it is “worthy”
• This locks innovators out
• Change is a threat to entrenched powers
Tuesday, June 18, 13

57. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Billing Codes Are Bad
Driven By Patient Dollars Billing Codes
Limited By Imagination Regulation
Peer Support Wide and Rich Limited
Product Quality Data Wide and Rich Limited
Barriers To Change Low High
Online Offline
The Great Divide
Tuesday, June 18, 13

58. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Why Else Are Patient’s
Struggling?
Tuesday, June 18, 13

59. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Hard To Meet Expectations
Fighting With One Hand Tied BehindYour Back
• Patient’s walk out of the Apple store and into
a Sleep Lab or DME.
• It is very difficult to meet a typical
consumers expectations with billing code
limits.
• One Size Fits All vs. Custom
Tuesday, June 18, 13

60. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Hard To Teach So Quickly
Overwhelmed Patient Seeks Caring Sleep Professional
• Why Am I Here?
• What’s Sleep Apnea?
• What’s a Sleep Lab?
• Is There A Different Between Equipment?
• How Do I Wear This Stuff?!
• How Do I Know Its Working?
• How Do I Care and Freshen Equipment?
Tuesday, June 18, 13

61. © U.S. Expediters 2010
When Billing Codes Limit
You...
Go Around.
Tuesday, June 18, 13

62. © U.S. Expediters 2010
What CanYou Do?
Tuesday, June 18, 13

63. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Use The Internet To Solve
Patient Issues
• Sleep Apnea 101 Education
• CPAP Lifestyle Adjustment Period
• Uninsured or Underinsured Patients
• Super Engaged Patients With Hours Of
Questions
• Solve Common Equipment Annoyances
Remotely
Tuesday, June 18, 13

64. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Stock Comfort Items
• Carry Comfort Items InYour Labs/DMEs
• Explain what is available
• Sell them for cash
• Bill for (some of) them
• Get Patients Oriented To Troubleshooting
Equipment Through Tweaks
• Know What Is Available
Tuesday, June 18, 13

65. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Use The Internet To Keep Up
With New Products
• Subscribe to Email CPAP Newsletters
• CPAP.com
• TalkAboutSleep.com
• Browse CPAP.com’s New Product Section
• Get Involved With CPAPtalk.com
Tuesday, June 18, 13

66. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Tell Patient’s To Look Online
Give Them The Tools To Learn On Their Own
Tuesday, June 18, 13

67. © U.S. Expediters 2010
Questions? Feedback? Slides?
Email: johnny@cpap.com
ThankYou!
Tuesday, June 18, 13