Page 35 - Mobility Management, January 2018

in their processes. They achieve success by breaking down the steps of the customer journey in an organized manner, and using these methodologies to help unlock improvement opportunities that change process flow, change policy and ultimately improve the customer experience.
One way in which we as an industry can innovate is to identify opportunities for payers, care providers/clinicians, equipment and service providers and manufacturers to more seamlessly communicate and work together at all the critical hand-off points. In any process and set of interactions variability is the enemy of efficiency. One of our biggest challenges is that we do things differently across the industry — variability in coding, HCPC usage, ICD codes, etc. By focusing on gaining consistency in some of the fundamentals that are consistent to all of us, we can gain efficiency in operation and once again the downstream impact of this will benefit those we serve.
The opportunity exists to transform the industry with new models and perspectives. Everyone needs to participate, including clinicians, therapists and case managers who are an integral part of the transformation given the significant role they have in serving their client’s needs. It is not easy, and it will not come overnight, but collectively we can make it happen!
clinical needs and Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) that these technologies and features address.
In my experience, too many different voices and messages can create confusion among legislators and policy makers as they struggle to fully understand the issues at hand, such as access, barriers to employment and cost containment. Therefore collaboration and alignment is critical for our overall challenge to advocate and educate in a unified way. When we are all
fully aligned, each investment of time spent on Capitol Hill, with State policy makers or coordinating efforts with industry associations, is well worth the investment and will ultimately reduce overall costs in the system. The permanent fix from CMS for Group 3 accessories is a great example. This was a well- coordinated effort over an extended period of time that started with awareness of the issue and education of the impact, accelerated to gain a groundswell of support and ultimately resulted in a policy change that has a huge impact on people living with disabilities.
Educate
For those operating in the industry every day, issue awareness is not the challenge. However, as with all industries, there is need for continuing education at all levels, as well as a need to develop an understanding and appreciation for the full range of activities across the spectrum of the industry. We have a duty to teach one another and conversely an obligation to invest the time to learn from experts. Speed, efficiency and accuracy comes from repetition, but also from how we are taught to do things. For example, if you are not an expert in funding documentation or the latest studies on the benefits of standing, seek help from the experts. Attend a symposium, class or webinar. Read a whitepaper, subscribe to key industry publications. If the particular role you are in does not give
you the opportunity to know what it is like to be on the “front lines” in a clinic, visit one. These resources and opportunities
are readily available, but we often put them off in the hopes of getting to them “when I have time.” Given the pressures in our industry, the free time is not coming! The reality is that we need to make the time to invest in continuing education and best practice sharing from within and outside of our CRT industry. Our clients/customers will appreciate that we have.
What you can do to help:
• Change your historical perspective and emulate the
best customer service organizations outside of CRT
• Attack waste and inefficiency by eliminating redundancies and rework across the customer journey
Advocate and Educate with Relentless and Unified Focus
As the landscape in which we operate changes almost daily, we cannot advocate and educate enough about the challenges and issues our customers face. This is the case when positioning
for needed legislation and policy, and also when educating ourselves on the latest technology developments available to improve lives.
Advocate
While there is a broad awareness about CRT, many lack a deep understanding of the distinctive needs of those who benefit from it. CRT is a very unique subset within the larger Durable Medical Equipment category. One in which the individualized needs of the person vary to such extremes there is no one- size-fits-all solution. Whether addressing use of tilt and recline, standing technology or an ultralight configurable manual wheelchair, it is important we make clear the tremendous
What you can do to help:
• Extend your personal reach to advocate on behalf of
those we serve via better intra-industry alignment
• Invest in education for yourself and across your organization
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