If I opened a business it would most likely be a hearing aid wholesale dispensing company. I say that as I work in the hearing field and I know firsthand that most patients may do so much more for hearing aids than they should. There are several ways to keep up with regulatory changes. Firstly, it's important to rely on associations and networks. To sell hearing aids, I would have to network and join associations with hearing aid sellers, like Phonak, Resound, Oticon, etc. Just like my current job, these companies come out once a year to anyone who sells their products to update on their new line of equipment, along with any updates to applicable laws pertaining to them. We recently had a major update that President Biden had just made an executive order that hearing aids could be sold over the counter (OTC). I'm sure many people in the hearing aid business were upset by this. However, generic hearing aids not fit specifically for each individual will never replace seeing a Hearing Instrument Specialist and getting the device programmed to themselves and their specific hearing. Each year we get updates on the new advancements to Bluetooth and how the laws are changing with them. I would subscribe to other associations, like CAOHC, which is a paid membership to get up-to-date information in the Audiology / Hearing field. Whether it is legal or medical, both are routinely brought up. I would stay in touch with the small business administration (SBA) as well as work with a lawyer to help navigate the huge realm of regulations from the global, country, state, and local governments.

There are many regulations, but you tend to stay in the loop in your field. For medical like my business, I would stay up to date on HIPAA Privacy Laws, Obamacare requirements, changes in Medicare and Medicaid each year, along with OSHA regulations for how we conduct business inside our clinic. So I would say that it is manageable, but can definitely feel like a lot you have to stay in tune with. The only way to stay compliant is as I mentioned above, you just have to stay involved and continue to stay up to date via all the available resources at your disposal. If you only work out of a small town, then you focus on that town's regulations. If you work in the medical field, you focus on insurance changes, and medical laws, and work with other offices to help each other work through the changes. I would definitely be concerned about compliance, but I think ultimately if you are committed to your business you are going to put in the work and research and you will be just fine. Even if you do make a mistake, you will eventually realize it and find a way to try and correct it.

Thoughts???