Pain Points: Look beyond location

Q. What needs to be prioritized during a search for an HME location? 

A. When opening, moving or scaling an HME/DME facility, the process of finding a suitable location that will best support your business needs can be a time consuming – and potentially frustrating – process. We streamline the undertaking by working backward; it’s time to ditch the standard real estate filters, and instead, look through the lens of compliant space considerations. Ready for your future-self to thank you? Here are some key factors to prioritize when searching for your next facility location. 

First, remember that both CMS and your accreditor will have standards you must adhere to if you’re planning to service Medicare beneficiaries that will be above and beyond what a facility organized for retail may be set up to provide. Second, consider your niche or specialty. If you are planning to provide services as a drop-ship diabetes supplies provider, then do you really need that store front? If you’re thinking about providing powered mobility in the future, is it feasible to be in a multistory office building? 

Highlighters ready? Here is your helpful “Location, Location, Location: Standard Facility Requirements List” to use during your next location search. Your space must: be a minimum of 200 square feet; not share a common address with another DMEPOS or business with a PTAN; maintain secure record storage for both patients and employees; maintain a private space for patient fitting/changing; be staffed a minimum of 30 hours a week; have the ability to post business name/operation hours/phone number/after-hours number facing the public; be accessible to the public during posted business hours with no door codes or security codes, and finally, must be fully ADA compliant.

By applying this scalable approach, over just a geographic location search (i.e., foot trafficked, street visible, etc.), you will find yourself set up for a sustainable, compliant and accreditation-ready business. 

Price A. Wooding, CDME, ADLS, is the owner of DME for Me Consulting and can be reached for questions at pwooding@dmeforme.org.