Quipt addresses investigation, commits to e-prescribing

CINCINNATI – Quipt Home Medical’s strong fiscal first quarter was tempered by news of a recently-announced investigation into certain claims, during a recent earnings call.  

Quipt has disclosed that it has received a civil investigative demand from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia pursuant to the False Claims Act regarding an investigation concerning whether the company may have caused the submission of false claims to government health care programs for CPAP equipment. 

Such investigations are not uncommon for home medical equipment companies, and the company is cooperating fully, says CEO Greg Crawford.

“At this point, we don't believe that there's been any wrongdoing,” he said. “And once again, we're very confident in our billing practices.” 

Quipt reported revenue of $65.4 million for quarter, a 60% increase compared to the same period last year.

Eighty-three percent of the company’s revenue is tied to its recurring revenues base, thanks to its resupply program, which serves as a “cornerstone,” said CFO Hardik Mehta. 

“Our resupply program has experienced significant expansion and now serves 172,000 patients as of Dec. 31, 2023, marking an impressive growth rate of 72%,” he said. “The resupply program provides us a higher margin recurring revenue stream and plays a crucial role in extending the patient life cycle with us.” 

Quipt is also looking to e-prescribing, which it says is “essential” to the HME industry, for improvements. In August, Quipt executives announced an investment of $1.5 million to purchase about 10% of DMEscripts. The company has a plan in the works to boost physician adoption of e-prescribing, which Crawford says is the biggest obstacle to increasing its usage. 

“We have an initiative where we're going to start sending out our prescription renewals for supplies or oxygen, whatever it may be, to the doctor to kind of almost force them, ‘Hey, you can log into this portal (and) you can review all your prescriptions that are needed for your patients,’” he said. “And with one click, you can sign them all if you approve them all.”