Page 24 - HME Business, January/February 2020

changing orders,” Kinnare explains. “So, especially in the pediatric realm, we might see their formula orders changed on a bimonthly basis, every other month, because as the child grows, they need more nutrition to meet their calorie needs.
“Maybe it’s the same formula, but it’s a higher amount,” she continues. “So next month they need more formula. Maybe they had a nasal gastric tube in, but now the child has been converted to a G-tube. Well, they’re going to need different supplies now that they have a tube in their stomach versus their nose. So, we have to be really in tune with these changes and we have to be able to keep up with it.”
So, if you think that Option Care Health’s resupply situation sounds a lot like sleep providers’ resupply situation, you shouldn’t be surprised. There are probably more similarities than differences in this scenario: patients’ therapies are unique and require fine-tuning; there is a lot of communication involved in that process; that fine-tuning and resupply process is ongoing and not without change. So constant outreach, communication and dialog between patient, provider and referral partner is critical.
Software Lessons Learned
Bearing all that in mind, sleep providers have leverage technology and revised workflows to turn resupply into equal parts art and science. What has the sleep segment learned that can be applied to other categories that want to improve their resupply programs?
“One of the things that we’ve learned through the sleep resupply process is to set the patient and the provider up for success from the patient setup,” says Margaret Lindskog, director of operations for ReSupply LiveCall at Brightree, which provides a live patient contact center for resupply providers. “Resupply success begins at the onset of therapy and focusing on the initial patient education; changing out the supplies; the reasons the patient should pay attention to resupply; and the benefits that they’re going to see.
“You want to set expectations with the patient; explain the follow-up process; and what patients can expect going forward once they start their therapy, and once they’re at home with their equipment,” she continues. “When providers start resupply from the get-go, we find that it increases compliance and sets the patient up for success.”
In terms of the infrastructure of an effective resupply program, the right resources really begin with technology. For instance, Brightree offers Brightree Connect, an integrated solution that manages a provider’s resupply patient base. It identifies the right patient at the right time for the right supplies and then it helps the provider make outreach to their patients. Patients can click resupply orders in a multiple of different communications modalities. So the software not only helps providers manage that list, but make contact in the way that’s most appropriate for the patient.
This lets the provider assure that it is contacting the patient effectively and at the proper time. So, offering different contact modes based on the patient’s preference, but also their success, is critical. Providers want to ensure they are contacting patients the right way, at the right time, with the right messaging. In effect, technology is helping them formulate a “secret sauce” for each patient’s resupply.
“There’s something for everyone,” Dopplick says. “For example, if a patient is a busy business traveler and they don’t want to be tied to a phone and call in, they can use a method such as the Patient Hub. Patient Hub is a Brightree patient engagement app that gives patients a short alert on their phone letting them know that it’s time to reorder their supplies. That’s a really seamless solution for that kind of busy patient; they could be walking through the airport and open the app and pop in their order and they’re good to go. They know that those supplies are going to arrive on time when they need them.
“We also have a more of an automated an IVR solution and we have a
guided work list if you have staff at your location that can make those calls, that’s available as well,” she adds. “We also have our ReSupply LiveCall service that can help assist your staff in making some of resupply calls.”
Beyond that, software also creates efficiencies and seamless processes between not just the provider and patient, but provider and referral sources, and even between funding sources.
“Software really is the key to managing multiple patients across multiple payers; multiple outreach methods; and multiple disease states,” Dopplick says. “Leveraging technology can take the burden off the HME and ensure that the patients are being contacted the right way, at the right time, and about the right supplies. Software can really do a good chunk of that patient management work for you. That’s a huge benefit to an HME provider. It allows the provider to identify and overcome different pain points or any bottlenecks that they have within their organization so they can streamline their workflow, processes, and create a consistent resupply program for patients.”
Judging Performance
After the provider has done all the work with software to implement an effective resupply program and it has patients reordering, and complying with therapy, software then lets the provider go back and start fine-tuning its performance.
“What does your data tell you?” Dopplick asks. “Do you have patients who are at risk of retention? Do you have opportunities to maximize your orders? That’s really where the analytics component can come in.
“So, providers want to make sure they have good quality data that allows them to keep tabs on their patient base and be proactive when there are concerns or issues,” she explains. “This ensures that the resupply program you’ve worked hard to build remains solid for your business and your patients.”
And, in creating the kinds of tools and those analytics that lead to better resupply, Dopplick says Brightree is starting to see key performance indica- tors that are turning into the barometers for a good resupply program.
“Of course, the clinical outcomes improve, but they grow their business,” she says. “We see, on average, a 30 percent increased resupply revenue, and 37 percent increased revenue per order. And then, when it comes to retention, we see about a 9 percent to 10 percent improvement in overall patient retention, which we know just generates the downstream bottom line, as well.”
But for all the metrics that can be collected, there is still a human element that providers of resupply items need to prioritize. Interaction still reigns supreme when it comes to resupply, at least for Option Care Health’s Kinnare. The resupply effort benefits most when there can be live dialog with the patients, and IT and workflow enhancements need to foster that.
“When I look at the number of refills we do per day and the number of patients we help ... there is this huge opportunity for us to do something different,” she says. “So, I’m loving the sound of the different technology that other providers are using. I think ultimately, that’s probably the biggest piece to making all of this more efficient: still taking care of the patients.” n
24 HMEBusiness | January/February 2020 | hme-business.com
Management Solutions | Technology | Products
“Leveraging technology can take the burden off the HME provider.” — Morgan Dopplick, Brightree LLC