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platforms] are very different in terms of functionality and integration with either EHRs or DME software, so I’d start by doing my due diligence there.”
This includes the supplier looking at things like cost of the platforms through the purview of cumulative and long-term pay-off. Each platform comes with a cost to the supplier; some may be a monthly subscription while others charge a per transaction fee. “So you have to do your analysis,” she added. “Say ‘Okay, this platform is going to cost me X per month, but at the end of the day, my current process costs me X.’”
Suppliers should also look outward and assess the current landscape of e-prescribing in their larger network. Brummett says that suppliers should take inventory of which physicians are already using e-prescription platforms and which ones. “What we’re likely to find is that depending on how adoption goes through the country that some pockets geographically will be driven by what is already there or what the prescriber community is using.”
She also suggests that suppliers open communication about e-prescribing with big referral sources to discuss how e-prescribing could work with current operations and what adjustments should be made upon the adoption of an e-prescribing platform.
“Those things I think suppliers need to be doing today. And [AAHomecare’s] goal is to continue to work with CMS on the acceptability of e-documents,” Brummett added.
Why It’s Worth It
Guidetti believes that e-prescribing will benefit all suppliers. “This is for the mass market, and it’s really critical that any healthcare entity – sub-acutes, nursing homes – go through the whole spectrum of healthcare facilities that work with the HME community, we all benefit from it.”
Beyond benefits to suppliers, e-prescribing has the potential to improve the entire DME segment of healthcare, including the patients. “We can’t claim that the industry is healthy when patients can’t get their equipment due to lack of
a diagnosis code or lack of a signed document being sent the HME provider,” said Knowlton. “In an era where the referral sources are all electronic and
sharing data, it’s hard to fathom the state of disconnection that has existed.” The current state of the referral process can frustrate patients as much as
suppliers when their paperwork has to be reworked by multiple points of contact from the HME supplier to the physician’s office. But more than frustra- tion, an inefficient system can cause delays in equipment being delivered to the patient’s home, which ultimately results in an extended stay in a hospital. Once the equipment has been delivered to the home, patients can be at risk
of non-compliance with proper use of the equipment because of imprecise documentation. Or, if the wrong equipment is delivered because of insufficient or incorrect documentation, the patient is put at more risk of not receiving the care they need when they need it. These are side-effects of an outdated system.
“That’s happening right now, today, every day,” Guidetti said. “And [e-prescribing] addresses those issues to streamline the process, making it better, easier, faster.” n
e-Prescription Systems Making HME Inroads
Stratice Healhcare, GoScripts, DMEhub, and Parachute Health are e-prescribe platforms that have partnered with AAHomecare to help transition the HME industry to e-prescribing. Each platform will play
a part in driving the HME ePrescribe initiative. Kim Brummett, vice president of regulatory affairs at AAHomecare, advises suppliers to research each platform to determine which one will integrate the most efficiently and cost-effectively with their current HME systems and business models. To learn more about each platform, order a demo, and more, visit their respective websites:
• Stratice Healthcare at www.straticehealthcare.com. • GoScripts at www.goscripts.com.
• DMEhub at dmehub.com.
• Parachute Health at www.parachutehealth.com.
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