2022 HME Business Handbook: Patient Engagement
How To Personalize Your HME Care Today
- By Michael Lorenz
- Jun 01, 2022
The “AMAZON EXPERIENCE” has
been a part of our lives in recent
years, bringing an expectation of
convenient, streamlined and fast
service at the click of a button.
This same level of convenience
and efficiency is now being
expected in healthcare, as patients
demand a more personalized and
tailored experience.
In order to provide the best
possible experience for home
medical equipment (HME)
patients, it is important for HME
providers to prioritize convenience
and ease of access in the ways that
their patients interact with and
communicate with their business.
Offering a digital experience
that empowers and engages
patients will ultimately drive
greater financial transparency,
predictability and convenience,
improve therapy adherence and
enable low-touch communication
for fewer manual burdens on staff.
This can be done by positioning
the patient at the center of the
care journey and making sure
that their needs are always a top
priority. Additionally, providing
a personalized experience will
ensure that patients are satisified
with their HME provider business.
By following these simple tips,
HME providers can provide an
exceptional experience for all of
their patients.
USE DATA TO PERSONALIZE THE PATIENT
EXPERIENCE
By collecting data on patients’
preferences and needs, providers can
customize their communications and
interactions with each individual. If you’re
looking to improve patient engagement
and create a more personalized
experience, it’s important to start
by identifying the channels that your
patients prefer.
Resupply solutions like live calling,
online portals and text messaging can be
great ways to reach patients effectively.
And by allowing patients to choose the
modality that best suits their needs,
you can create an experience that feels
tailored, convenient and transparent.
This, in turn, can improve outcomes and
propel revenue by helping to ensure a
consistent receipt of necessary supplies.
AUTOMATE PATIENT COMMUNICATIONS
Providers have more time to focus on
other important tasks when they’re
not spending hours every day trying to
connect with and gather information
from patients. This could include
appointment reminders, prescription
refill reminders, or even post-visit
follow-ups.
Fully integrated end-to-reach solutions
save providers valuable resources by
automating most communication,
document retrieval and resupply
processes in one platform, freeing up
time to focus on more important tasks
while helping to ensure patients receive
their documents in a timely manner.
MAKE RESUPPLY A PRIORITY
When it comes to resupplying HME and
other medical equipment, making the
process as seamless and personalized
as possible for patients should be a top
priority.
That’s where fully integrated,
end-to-end resupply solutions come
in. By managing all the pieces of the
resupply puzzle—including patient
outreach, automated document retrieval,
fulfillment, software automation, and
billing—in one place, providers can focus
on delivering an exceptional patient
experience. In addition to improving
the patient experience, fully integrated
resupply solutions can also help save
time and money. By automating various
tasks related to HME resupply, providers
can free up staff to focus on other tasks,
and avoid the hassle and expense of
billing mistakes.
MEASURE SUCCESS
Resupply solutions backed by data
analytics can provide insights into
patient engagement success. This is
accomplished through monitoring key
performance indicators like net revenue
collection, accounts receivable, sales
outstanding, sales orders created and
invoices to help better manage revenue
and staff productivity, define trends,
shape outcomes and use benchmarks for
better benefits.
By following these tips, you can
push the HME industry forward while
also accounting for increased therapy
adherence and decreased manual
burden on staff.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
- A complete HME solution automates
tasks and organizes data
so that staff can help provide
outstanding patient care.
- Completing more successful
resupply orders improves patient
outcomes while increasing revenue.
- Enforcing accurate documentation
and maintaining compliance are
ways to minimize extra workflows.
- Data can assist in managing
revenue and staff productivity and
offer valuable insights to better
manage resupply programs.
- Highlight workflow insights with
data and analytics. KPI tracking and
peer benchmarking help discover
actionable areas for improvement.
LEARN MORE
To find out more about Brightree’s
HME and resupply software platforms,
visit brightree.com.
This article originally appeared in the May/Jun 2022 issue of HME Business.
About the Author
Mike Lorenz is the vice president of resupply software for HME and post-acute software company Brightree LLC. (brightree.com).