E-prescribing: Stand up to scrutiny

Q. How will using an e-prescribe platform impact operations?
A. As the DME industry pursues a more active role in driving the adoption of DME e-prescribe, it is crucial that all DME providers educate themselves on what platforms are available to them, and how adoption of them may impact their own operations.
A “true” DME e-prescribe platform assists the referral source in electronically delivering a complete, accurate, billable and refillable order to a DME provider, often removing the need for back-and-forth rework. Despite the benefits to both referral sources and DME providers, only a small percentage of DME orders currently come through one of these platforms. However, DME e-prescribe order volume has been increasing drastically since the start of the pandemic and each of these platforms has taken a foothold with certain health systems or in certain regions of the country. In fact, the marketplace for true DME e-prescribe platforms is fractured enough that many referral sources use more than one of them in their daily practice.
As these DME e-prescribe platforms become more prevalent, DME providers often need to adjust to the increased visibility their referral sources will now have on every order they send. The best way to do that is to take a hard look at your current intake, qualification and order execution processes to see if they will stand up to the scrutiny that comes with greater transparency. DME providers will still compete on service, but the specificity and granularity of the data provided will allow referral sources to make much more educated decisions about who they choose to work with.
With a new openness to change by physicians and quantifiable benefits experienced by DME providers, the adoption of the DME e-prescribe platforms is poised to explode in 2022. But that explosion is dependent on DME providers becoming agents of change, maturing from passively accepting DME e-prescribe orders to actively driving the adoption of these platforms among the healthcare providers they work with.
Ken Hodel is vice president of development for DMEScripts. Reach him at ken.hodel@dmescripts.com.