Page 17 - HME Business, November/December 2020

any DME pharmacy looking to be a DMEPOS supplier.
When it comes to renewal, AOs will regularly send notifications to their
suppliers roughly six months ahead to outline the steps they need to take to renew. Things that the AO will highlight include new processes and new people they’ve hired.
“We’re making sure that you did the appropriate orientation and train- ing, and set up your files correctly, because to be honest, three years later, clients sometimes forget what they did three years before,” Canally says. “It’s all about continuing with that continuous quality improvement aspect.”
When adding a new category, the process is similar. Providers seeking accreditation for a new category must strive to ensure all the proper docu- mentation and procedural steps are in place for the DME and services they offer, and then undergo site surveys — and possibly have to undergo them again if they are found to need in improvement in some aspects of their business before they can become accredited.
Also, as mentioned, accreditation has morphed into a strategic asset for DMEPOS suppliers. Accreditation is not just a list of tasks that a provider must fulfill in order to meet billing requirements on a state or a federal level. Rather, it is a competitive edge that shows customers, physicians and other funding sources that a DME pharmacy can provide solid product cat- egory knowledge so that their referral partners and their patients are going to feel that they are working with an expert resource.
So, we are now seeing specialized accreditation and credentialing
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services emerge from the AOs to help suppliers drive home their expertise with their local market. Examples include the Certified Durable Medical Equipment (CDME) specialist certification from BOC, or the Patient-Cen- tered Respiratory Home from The Compliance Team. (Moreover, AOs such as The Compliance Team, ACHC and BOC offer services specifically for pharmacies as well.)
Whether it’s adding a new category or seeking an additional specialized accreditation or credentialing, there are a few elements that our experts all noted providers want to consider: they want to ensure that they have the right on-staff expertise, and they want to balance their desires to drive new revenue against how much they can enhance how they can serve their local communities.
How do you approach that balancing act? ACHC’s Safley suggests start- ing small with some retail products that are adjacent to funded categories.
“Pharmacies are finding little niches,” he says. “They’re saying ‘I’m selling three lift chairs a month; maybe want to get into power mobility devices.’ They’re starting with little niches and building on them, especially with DME that their community can’t normally get, or have to mail order when they’d rather come in and pick it up. At the pharmacy, they can see it and touch it.”
Once a pharmacy thinks it has found the right niche? Then they can start working with their AO to secure accreditation for that category or special
credentialing. n
DME Pharmacy | December 2020 9 3/4/20 2:42 PM