Selling referral sources on tech

PHOENIX - While labor is the No. 1 cost center for HME providers, it’s also the No. 1 thing they can control, says John Skoro, president of Xmed Oxygen and Medical Equipment. Here’s what Skoro, who will be co-hosting a session on how to leverage technology to automate referral processes, had to say about mitigating costs with e-prescribing. 

HME News: Why is it so important for HME providers to play an active role in “selling” technology to automate referral processes and e-prescribe? 

John Skoro: We might say, “Hey, it only takes my customer service person six to seven minutes to do an order,” but the reality is it might take them 30 minutes between doing the order, going back to the fax machine, sending it out, getting an email, reading it over, and resending it again. Whereas e-prescribing lets you do that order correctly—upfront—and takes the complexity out of all the different types of requirements. The end result is that our customer service personnel could do three to four times as many orders than they could without using the technology. 

HME: What’s a good tip for talking with referral sources about how to use this technology? 
 

Skoro: It's about saying, “I'm going to save you time for something you are not getting paid for,” and who wouldn't want that? The second challenge is, “How do I do this, this looks really complicated,” and you have to be able to say, “We're here with you every step of the way.” 

HME News: If attendees walk away with one thing from your session, what should that be? 
 

Skoro: We all benefit from strength in numbers. Even if I lose a relationship with a referral source, the next guy benefits if he's using similar technology, because I already trained that particular health system, and that's good for everybody.