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Key Focus Areas to Grow Your DME/HME

by | July 28, 2021 | 10:10 am
Category : DME, HME
Key focus areas to grow your DME/HME

As daily business operations go, DME/HMEs have challenges that can distract from growth factors. There are two things that DME/HME businesses must focus on simultaneously:

  • Attending to equipment orders.
  • Ensuring comprehensive order taking.
    This may include completing medical documents, compiling notes for insurance verifications, and making copies of the doctor’s authorization.

Both elements are critical to business survival. However, both are equally time-consuming and can take focus away from growing the business and -generating revenue.

1. Performing regular equipment assessments

Ensuring equipment delivery in fit and working order can create a positive customer impact. This is vital, especially in healthcare where the customer is probably suffering and is in a negative frame of mind. The equipment delivery can help provide customers with comfort and freedom to live their lives to the extent their medical condition allows them to.

In this context, regular assessment of equipment can help DME/HME businesses ensure they stay focused on delivering health care, while also helping build trust and credibility and pave the way for more return business and referrals through word of mouth.

As with most equipment, DME/HME equipment may need home assessment before the patient begins to use it. Is the equipment ready to be assembled, is it sanitized, in working order, and will it make for a positive experience for the patient? These are some questions that are important to answer before making a delivery call for your equipment.

2. Ensuring safe transportation of equipment

Proper transportation ensures no damage to the DME equipment affecting its performance. This contributes to the first aspect discussed above, ensuring equipment reaches patients in the condition it is needed for optimum performance.

Many DME such as wheelchairs, special beds, respiratory aids, and sanitary attachments may need to be transported in pieces and assembled at the patient’s home or the place where they are to be used. This requires dependable packaging and safe transport of all components to ensure they are in working order on delivery.

3. Outsourcing critical operations

Outsourcing critical DME/HME operations can streamline processes and boost growth — not just for those outsourced items. It can also drive efficiencies and eventually, profitability.

Outsourcing corrects multiple challenges: training staff, providing reliable and modern infrastructure, having adequate numbers on staff, documentation records and backup, etc.

Whether instructing and informing patients on equipment use, or making sure patient details are recorded, staff training is a significant DME growth factor. Undertaking staff training in-house can prove to be difficult. Given the often high volume of work assumed by a DME/HME, paired with documentation needs, staff turnover may be high and difficult for the business to manage.

Outsourcing addresses the issue of reliable documentation because the outsourcing partner brings trained resources, experienced in managing medical billing and the documentation needed for successful claim processing.

The role played by HME/DME billing partnerships in business growth.

Whether documentation or efficient Revenue Cycle Management, professional partnerships can help HME/DME businesses focus on their growth without the constant worry of attrition or high expenses stemming from the need for in-house investments.

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