Resupply: Get your arms around tech

A. Technology is a must. How else can you track individual patient bases that use different things and need them resupplied at different times. That's the biggest hurdle. Then you have to be able to keep up, with support systems, people, time, pick, pack and shipping, and ensure all those pieces function in a way that accomplishes, documents and archives the compliance piece of the business. 

It can seem too expensive or complex to get your arms around, but it can be done with the right technology, support, partners and commitment. It certainly is worth it from a financial standpoint on most categories. It is always the right thing to be doing from a compliance standpoint.

So often I see how hard an HME client works and all they must do just for the initial service and billing. Too many stop at that point. With a little more effort, why not proactively resupply your patient going forward? In most cases there is far more recurring revenue to be had if you will commit to do it.

We recently took on a new client and discovered, when it came to resupply, how little they did—they weren't billing cushion codes on CPAP resupply. While it is clear in the LCD that you should not bill a cushion code on an initial Medicare set-up, you absolutely should on all resupply orders, and not just one (FFM A7031) but two on (A7032-A7033). Depending on the mask a Medicare patient is using, if properly resupplied every month according to Medicare sanitation guidelines, you average more than $1,600 per patient per year in accounts receivable. Who can afford to turn their head away from that kind of recurring revenue stream in these days and times?

Russell Parker is COO at Revsuppliance. Reach him at russell@revsuppliance.com.