A team of nurses, medical researchers (PhDs) and a doctor produce the newsletters, which include easy-to-read healthcare information. The newsletters target healthcare professionals, patients and physicians. Topics cover general healthcare and topics related to HME. "We try to write about issues and topics that people will actually read about," Feuer said. "And they are not written by average people like me."

Topics for healthcare professionals include: "Helping and Treating Insomnia" and "Keys to Lessen the Likelihood of Infection During Home Infusion Therapy." Topics for patients include: "Skin Care for Patients with Incontinence"; "Recreational Activities for People with Disabilities"; and "2010 Medicare Update: Understanding Your Coverage."

Advance Healthcare in Fort Wayne, Ind., recently began using the newsletters..."We feel that if we can be consultants and educators, that brings more value to our referral sources," said Amy Fisher, sales manager. "It makes a statement. It lets them know that Advanced is not only in it for your durable medical equipment, but that we are really patient focused and referral-source focused."

Each month, customers go online and pick the newsletter they want from any of the three categories. They receive a digital version, which they can e-mail to their target audience or print out and deliver in person.

Feuer said he is also hearing the same thing from physicians themselves: How do I keep up my visibility, enhance my image and provide education to my patients and referral sources at a low cost?

"I have been an educator for all of my career and always thought there was some way to provide education to our customers in a format that would get their attention on a regular basis," said Feuer, adding that this is "...an issue that has gone unsolved for so long because of cost, time and other more serious issues on the agenda of every home care business owner." He thinks newsletters could be the answer.

Over the years, he pointed out, a lot of HME providers have offered newsletters to clinicians, but few have had the time and money to keep them going. Feuer said he has battled the time-draining prospect of newsletters himself. He wrote them for clients in the past, but soon had to give it up. And while electronic newsletters have eliminated the burden of printing, timely, original content is still the key for any such venture.

Recently, Feuer joined forces with PRIME Education, Inc. (PRIME^®) an educational firm run by a longtime colleague, to beat the battle. "We partnered to come up with a plan where we could provide newsletters on a monthly basis to home care companies...going beyond the pens, pads and mugs. That was costly, but this is education."

When Feuer used to write the content himself, he said, he ultimately could not get it done even on a quarterly basis, much less every month. "You have to write it, edit it and you have to get it out, and it just did not work," said Feuer. "I have clients who told me that they were doing it on their own and I asked, 'Did you get it out every month?' And the answer was usually, 'We did it twice and then we gave it up.'"

Feuer describes the new initiative-Does Training (www.doestraining.com)- as a line of educational newsletters that allows providers to identify their company as an organization that provides quality health care education in interesting and interactive formats. "We produce newsletters in three categories: for health care professionals, for patients and for physicians," he said. "We email those to you, and every month you get to choose which newsletter you would like."

For companies looking to spend money on things other than mugs and pens, Feuer hopes the educational theme will strike a chord. "You can email it, put it in your billing statement or put it in a shipping box," added Feuer. "We have a whole staff of expert writers getting these out. It is all original content, and it is focused on national topics that would fit in for any region."

"Consider the after-effects of any educational product. Is it something that brings value to customer? Is it something that can be shared with your name on it? When will you do it again to get that same impact? That's the basis of how the newsletters were created."