Page 18 - HME Business, February 2018

Harvesting HME Claims and Patient Data
“Providers are beginning to utilize patient and claim data more effectively, but many are still missing opportunities to provide additional products that can enhance the patient experience and maximize
business with key referral sources.”
— Ryan Ball, VGM Market Data
“Patients, like consumers, are generally willing to pay for incremental value,” he said. “Identify, then stratify, the customers who are willing to spend more than the claim
will pay.”
— Doug Iversen, Computers Unlimited/TIMS Software
sources,” says Ryan Ball, director of VGM Market Data. “Many providers have been conditioned over the years to fear direct-to-patient marketing efforts due to Medicare supplier standards, but there is a captive audience waiting to be tapped into. Identifying and focusing sales and marketing efforts on key referral sources is also key to nding new growth opportunities.”
WHAT TO COLLECT
According to Doug Iversen, sales and marketing director for Computers Unlimited/TIMS Software, keeping an eye on the delta between actual product sales and the reimbursement amount is the data that has the most potential for margin growth.
“Patients, like consumers, are generally willing to pay for incremental value,” he notes. “Identify, then stratify, the customers who are willing to spend more than the claim will pay. Quickly identifying the type of consumer who will pay for enhanced products and services will be key because if you
don’t offer choices or what they expect, they can go somewhere else quickly.” Ball says that successful data marketing is based on knowing customers’ preferred mode of communication and speci c patient contact information,
such as email, phone and address, and patient demographic information, such as date of birth and last date of purchase.
“This should all be part of the patient intake process,” he explains. “As long as you have provided a Medicare-approved product to the patient within the last 18 months, you can freely communicate with that patient about additional products; however, obtaining a speci c release from the patient is also a good idea.”
Ball also contends that providers should be tracking their key referral sources, volume trending year over year, and new referral sources captured. Anderson said providers must tap into the data that is likely already being
captured in the providers’ DME software if using a point of sale system along with insurance billing:
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