Learning From DME Providers: Automation Solutions for Orthopedists

Like DME providers, orthopedic surgeons must exercise a delicate balance between running a profitable business and providing quality clinical care to patients. Paying attention to the administrative side of their practice is as important as providing quality medical services. This means embracing the best healthcare business practices, such as the use of technology and workflow management solutions. Let’s look at how orthopedics can take advantage of home medical equipment providers’ solutions to streamline their practice. 

DME/HME Providers & Orthopedists  

What’s common between home medical equipment providers and orthopedists? First things first, orthopedists provide crucial healthcare services to patients suffering from joint and bone problems. They often prescribe musculoskeletal assistive equipment to patients to enable patients to lead quality lives. Also referred to as orthotics, the equipment is covered by Medicare Plan B and Medicare Advantage Plan.  

Orthotics include harness straps, thumb abductors, splints, and braces, among others. Billing these assistive devices requires orthopedists to code, bill, and submit claims to payers. Similarly, durable medical providers must do coding and billing of various equipment to expedite their collections. Both DME providers and orthopedists suffer from the same challenges, such as denials, compliance issues, burdensome billing, complex inventory control, and unpredictable cash flows. 

To resolve these challenges, durable medical equipment providers rely on DME software companies for workflow management solutions. Using these technology tools eliminates manual processes, which are normally responsible for challenges affecting most DME businesses. Intuitive and customizable automation solutions from DME software companies (i.e. nikohealth.com) allow providers to seamlessly carry out patient intake, document verification, claims processing, equipment order management, and inventory control. 

Automation Solutions for Orthopedists 

Since the orthopedists and DME/HME suppliers share nearly similar business models, the same solutions can resolve the many challenges affecting their line of business. Here are DME automation solutions, which orthopedists can adopt to streamline operations, bolster A/R, and improve service delivery: 

Medical Inventory Solutions.

Inventory management is one of the major challenges affecting HME/DME suppliers, especially when they operate from more than one location. Similarly, for orthopedists, managing inventory when you’ve subsidiaries in different locations can be expensive and complicated.  

Investing in HME/DME inventory software can help DME suppliers and orthopedists alike manage inventory better. Automation and cloud-based solutions facilitate access to real-time data from all inventories. It also allows suppliers to track equipment movement throughout the whole logistic chain. Here is why medical inventory management software is crucial: 

• Provides real-time visibility 
• Supports mobile devices like smartphones and tablets 
• Eliminates stockouts 
• Generates powerful analytics for fast and data-backed decision making
• Supports integration with healthcare systems like Electronic Health Records (EHR
• Eliminates paperwork errors, thereby promoting accuracy and increasing productivity 

Revenue Cycle Management Tools. 

Keeping close attention to collections and payments is critical for DME/HME suppliers and orthopedists as well. Having a DME software that manages everything from qualifying patients to ordering and shipping equipment can improve cash flow in your practice. Prescreening patients and manually checking their insurance options, copays, and deductibles is burdensome. Automating the patient intake process can save your healthcare business time and money. 

Using a kind of modern revenue cycle management software (https://nikohealth.com/rcm-software/), healthcare admins can accelerate both out-of-pocket and payers’ collections. Here are the benefits your orthopedic business can get by using an RCM tool: 

• Automates patient’s intake process by quickly verifying their health insurance plans and benefits 
• Streamlines billing process by managing denials 
• Manages out-of-pocket collections by keeping track of all copays 
• Boosts revenue through efficient billing and timely appeals and follow-up on denials 
• Shortens bill-to-collection cycle by automating claims management 
• Ensures error-free claims submissions 
• Maintains an up-to-date database of billing codes, AAPC rules, and CMS regulations 

Clinical Workflow Solutions

DME/HME suppliers and orthopedics often complain of exhausting work that never seems to end. Between back-to-back appointments, verifying documents on each patient visit, and day-to-day administrative needs, errors, and delays can occur, affecting negatively on customer satisfaction and your RCM. Moreover, it’s difficult to stay ahead and make proper decisions when you’ve to move from location to location to expedite clinical tasks. 

Since durable medical equipment and orthopedic businesses can’t escape these burdening tasks, it makes sense for admins to search for automation solutions. Using a workflow automation solution allows you to access your business virtually anywhere, enabling you to see in real-time what’s happening in every department. Here is why you need a workflow tool for your orthopedic practice: 

Allows for web-based appointment scheduling, improving patients’ experience, and facilitating collaboration with caregivers 

• Automates the patient’s treatment journey from the time of entry to the provision of feedback 
• Enables integration of workflows and reports from various departments 
• Facilitates accurate and fast diagnosis by delivering the right resources to doctors instantly 
• Automatically manage equipment orders to facilitate timely shipment and delivery 
• Improve efficiency, eliminate errors, and boost productivity

Getting the Right Automation Tools

There are many DME software providers, but only those who use innovative approaches and ensure easy and quick onboarding with transparent pricing are worth attention. Innovative companies provide all-in-one automation solutions that capture every process in a DME/HME practice. Since it’s cloud-based software, you can access your business anywhere, anytime you need.   

To get the right automation tool for your DME/HME or orthopedic business, consider the following factors: 

• Simplicity: You’re moving away from manual processes and paperwork because you want a simple but efficient system to manage your healthcare business. Find a tool that staff with minimal IT knowledge can use without facing any problems. 
• User Experience: Top automation tools are easy to use and provide access to 24/7 support. They are intuitive and your staff will need little to no training to efficiently use the software.  
• Real-Time Analytics: An excellent tool should allow you to gain real-time insights about various processes in your practice.  
• API Integration: Useful DME automation tools support seamless integration of various tools to promote efficiency and productivity. 
• Multi-device Support: DME/HME solutions should support smartphones, tablets, and desktops, allowing access to your business from any device. 

If you want intuitive and simple software, you can use to boost productivity in your DME business, look for a tool, that allows you to streamline inventory control and gain insights into what’s happening across the supply chain.