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Many HME providers are opting to outsource their revenue cycle management or parts of their RCM for a lot of different reasons. Most of those reasons are focused on optimizing business performance, but there’s one more reason that might not immediately springs to mind: data security. Enida Mimani, director of Healthcare Solutions for Analytix Solutions explains how outsourcing RCM can help secure protected health information for HME businesses and their patients. Sponsored By Analytix Healthcare Solutions

The owners, operators and management of HME providers are currently contending with a tricky problem: There are certain roles within the HME business that require specialized knowledge, professionalism and dedication, yet the current job market means high employee turnover, transition and retraining. How can providers get the best talent for the job—and keep it? Jim Knight, the CEO of medical billing company ACU-Serve, has been solving problems like this in home healthcare for more than 30 years and joins the podcast to share his insights. Sponsored By ACU-Serve

HME businesses are facing staffing challenges that are impacting both their top and bottom lines, but there are outsourcing solutions that can help them. However, the key is to do it right, which means measurement and analytics. What are the metrics they should use to track and manage their performance? Sunil Krishnan, Vice President of Revenue Cycle Management at HME software company Brightree joins the podcast to share his expertise and insights. Sponsored By Brightree

We’ve all heard of outcomes-based and value-based care and how that trend is impacting provider care and business operations for HME providers, but what about sales? How do providers win over key referral partner and payer relationships in that environment? HME sales expert Ty Bello, RCC, president and founder of industry sales and management coaching firm Team@Work Coaching says that HME providers need to start engaging in outcomes-based selling, and joins the podcast to talk more about what that means how providers can start implementing that sales approach.

Recent CMS audits of Medicare Advantage health plans uncovered roughly $12 million in net overpayments. Moreover, CMS said it was going to extrapolate the payment error rates across all Medicare Advantage plans to recoup an estimated $650 million. As a result, Medicare Advantage plans are now auditing the companies with whom they work—including HME providers. Audit expert Wayne van Halem, president and founder of the audit consulting firm The van Halem Group, discusses what this means for the industry and how providers should respond.

In less than two weeks, the industry will pack its bags to attend Medtrade East, which runs Oct. 24-26 at Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center. This year marks some changes for the event before it moves to Dallas in 2023, and Show Director York Schwab joins the HMEB Podcast to discuss what’s new for Medtrade East. From a new hall, more exhibitors, a new schedule lineup, and revised educational offerings, there’s a lot to take in at the show.

Medicare accreditation goes much deeper than simply being able to bill Medicare as a DMEPOS supplier. In fact, accreditation has considerable strategic value for HME providers when it comes to differentiating themselves in their marketplace, uncovering new opportunities, and demonstrating their expertise to referral partners. Matt Gruskin, the chief operating officer of The Board of Certification/Accreditation (BOC), returns to the podcast to how providers can make the most of their accreditation and what they should expect from their Accrediting Organization.

Everyone HME provider knows that if you’re going to be a DMEPOS supplier, then you need to be accredited to bill Medicare. But what if you’re an HME provider that doesn’t supply Medicare? More specifically, what if you’re a retail provider and need some way to demonstrate your expertise to your customers? Sandy Canally, RN, founder and CEO of accrediting organization The Compliance Team, joins the podcast to discuss a brand new certification program for non-Medicare providers.

Running an HME or CRT business is filled with a dizzying array of complex workflows and unique business, funding and care protocols, practices and procedures. That’s why Bill Paul, who, as a one-time CRT provider, built a series of technology tools to help his business. Those tools went on to become the core of his current business, ATLAS Technology, where he serves as CEO. Paul and several of the ATLAS Technology team join the podcast to discuss the technology, telehealth, clinical care, and business services they now offer to HME and CRT provider businesses.

Ask any retail HME provider, and they’ll tell you that customer attitudes concerning the economy are impacting their buying habits. That’s not surprising, as monthly consumer sentiment data bears that out. Simply put, consumers are worried. So, how do retail HME providers manage those customer concerns during times of uncertainty? Sean Stapleton, CEO of MedGuard Protection Plans, joins the podcast once again to offer some strategies and tools that providers can employ to not only address those concerns but strengthen customer connections. Handled correctly, you just might create a customer for life.

Resupply plays a pivotal role not only in sleep apnea patients’ therapy compliance and outcomes, but in the health of an HME provider’s business performance as well. That said, sleep resupply requires managing an enormous number of details for each patient. That’s why automating the process is so essential. Mike Lorenz, vice president of Resupply at HME software company Brightree, joins the podcast to talk about how far systems for automating resupply have come, the results they’ve achieved, and how providers can implement these tools into their businesses.

Could Medicare finally fund seat elevation systems for power wheelchairs? For the first time ever, it’s looking possible. Medicare is opening its NCD up to review, which would mean a public comment period, and setting the stage for that was a virtual roundtable hosted by the National Council on Disability regarding funding the systems. Seth Johnson, the senior vice president of Government Relations for Pride Mobility/Quantum Rehab, joined the podcast to give us an insider’s view of the roundtable meeting.

Up until the Covid-19 public health emergency was declared, telehealth wasn’t at the top of the list of HME providers’ priorities. Now, telehealth has become the norm in U.S. healthcare. Dr. Scott Martin, the medical director of TeleHealth Clinical Evals, and Maxine Paul, the vice president of operations for TeleHealth Clinical Evals, join the podcast to discuss how referral partners and patients have rapidly adopted telehealth, how HME providers can leverage telehealth to improve care and strengthen referral and patient relationships, and the sorts of telehealth services their company offers to help HME providers save time and generate revenue.

On June 1 an armed assailant entered Tulsa, Okla.’s Saint Francis Hospital and opened fire, killing four people and injuring a number of other victims. How has that event impacted hospital security, and how might that in turn impact HME sales professionals? HME sales expert Ty Bello, president and founder of Team@Work Coaching, and security expert Ralph C. Jensen, editor-in-chief and content director of Security Today, join the podcast to share their insights.

The transition to the homecare setting represents an omnipresent challenge for anyone involved in post-acute care — and particularly for HME providers. Vijay Kedar is the co-founder and CEO of Tomorrow Health, a company that has created a system that helps HME providers, referral partners, payers, patients and their caregivers coordinate more seamlessly. Kedar joins the podcast to talk about the issues surrounding the homecare transition and how HME providers benefit from smoothing that process.

We’re familiar with protection plans in our personal life, but there are some strong arguments why HME providers should consider offering them to their retail customers. MedGuard Protection Plans, is now offering these plans to the HME industry, and MedGuard CEO Sean Stapleton joins the HMEB podcast to talk about how offering product protection plans can help increase retail revenue, strengthen patient loyalty, and benefit the continuity of care.

The world of HME is all about patient relationships — putting the patient front and center in the process. Maintaining patient relationships and maximizing patient engagement results in improved compliance and increased referrals. And it turns out the key to making that happen might be a lot more common than we realize. James Yi, the Director of Product Management over Digital Connectivity for industry software maker Brightree LLC, discusses the most effective approach to patient engagement and how to implement it.

VGM’s Heartland Conference is making its return as fully in-person event on June 13-15 in VGM’s hometown of Waterloo, Iowa, and is offering a lot of new features as well as familiar favorites. Conference Chair Jill Blaser visits the HMEB podcast to offer a taste of what’s in store with Heartland’s conference, expo and social events. From the hog roast to specialized conference tracks and a remodeled convention facility, there’s a lot to learn about. Bonus link: Prospective attendees can visit the 2022 Heartland Conference eProspectus.

Vertical integration is a term that gets tossed around in healthcare, but what does it mean for the home medical equipment industry, and what should providers know about the trend? Laura Williard of the American Association for Homecare explains the trend and how it might impact the industry and outlines strategies for how the industry and providers can operate in such an healthcare marketplace.

Have you been wondering about Round 2024 of competitive bidding? You’re not alone. AAHomecare’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Kim Brummett sat down with HMEB during this week’s Medtrade West event to discuss how the next round of competitive bidding might play out, what CMS might do, and where the program might be headed in the future.