Pain Points: View products as guiding strategy 

Q. How do I optimize profitability and compliance by evaluating my product category accreditation? 

A. Whether starting a newly accredited DME or adding accreditation to an established facility, evaluating which product categories to include on your application can be an overwhelming process. However, it’s also one of the most important. From CPAP to powered mobility to diabetes supplies, specializing your business in one or a few categories can be a determining factor of your operational efficiency and overall profitability.  

So, where do you start?  

First, look internally. By starting with your organizational structure, you can maximize both your current resources and knowledge banks, while also looking through a lens of scalability. For example, do you employ anyone who may have experience in a wider range of DME/HME? Would expanding your staff, or adding contracted certified personnel with a specific product background, be fiscally possible?  

Next is state licensing. As states differ in their licensure requirements by product, this has a direct impact, regardless of whether it’s a new or existing company. Do you need additional licensure? Are there additional products that you can add that your license currently covers? Looking at this through a lens of compliance will help you make an informed decision, and aid in understanding what scaling or changing product categories could require.  

Finally, find a distributor that fits your workflow. Building a relationship with a qualified distributor that can complement your business goals and allow you to dispense the appropriate equipment to meet your community’s coverage needs is key. Does your distributor offer equipment that you could eventually add to a mail-order/drop-ship program, and may allow for an expansion of your reach and scope of care for patients?  

When you view product categories as a guiding business strategy, you may be surprised by just how your profitability graph trends upward and your compliant scope of care for patients increases. 

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