Providers prioritize tech in 2024

YARMOUTH, Maine – Technology ranks high on the list of investments providers plan to focus on this year, say more than half of respondents to a recent HME Newspoll. 

Fifty-six percent of poll respondents said investments in technology are a necessity these days. 

“We need to move toward a more comprehensive revenue cycle process to address shrinking margins, increased audits and hiring challenges,” wrote one respondent. “We are betting on this to reduce resistance in the referral process, while meeting regulatory requirements, helping to accelerate growth, improve employee engagement and position us for an increasingly data-driven future.” 

One way that respondents are planning to invest in technology: e-prescribing. While industry stakeholders have been pushing providers to adopt e-prescribing for years, even forming DMEScripts in 2021, it’s taken a little longer to move rank-and-file providers to make the transition. 

“Our current operating software is fragmented, and in need of consolidation, to include e-prescribe,” wrote Craig Rae of Penrod Medical Equipment in Salisbury, N.C. 

Twenty-two percent of respondents say they plan to invest in marketing to grow their business. 

“We’re still in the attracting stage and growing brand recognition,” wrote one respondent. 

While the HME industry continues to feel hiring pressures driven by a tight labor market, only 17% of poll respondents plan to invest in hiring in 2024. 

“(I) checked ‘hiring’ but plan to add Parachute this year,” wrote one respondent. “We need to add staff to stay with the competition. If possible, we would also like to add a location and expand, but it’s unlikely that will happen this year due to the above. A lot really depends on the Medicare reimbursement.” 

For some respondents, where to prioritize their investments was a toss-up – which can be a good problem to have. 

“We had significant growth in 2023,” Dave Beshoar of MedServ Equipment Corp in the Chicago area. “Our choice was to hire more staff or invest in technology to streamline workflow and be more efficient.”