Closing the Loop in DME Management: Ensuring Timely Equipment Pickup

Ensuring the timely pickup of Durable Medical Equipment (DME) after a patient has passed away is crucial. This process is essential for reducing costs, preventing equipment loss, and maintaining efficiency; but the most important aspect is care for the caregivers.

Simply stated, equipment lingering in the residence after a patient has passed away, is a poor reflection on your hospice.

This reflection is captured in CAHPS scores, and so from a variety of perspectives, ensuring timely equipment pickup is vital to good patient and care-giver care. Unfortunately, many hospice organizations struggle with this part of their workflow, causing frustration for their team members.

At Qualis, we have developed a solution that addresses these challenges head-on, ensuring that equipment pickup is timely and seamless.

The Problem with Untimely Equipment Pickup

Hospices often face challenges with the timely pickup of DME after a patient has been discharged or has passed away. This delay can lead to several problems:

1. Lost Equipment: When equipment isn't picked up on time, it increases the risk of items being misplaced or lost. Frustrated family members understandably drag it to the curb, for the equipment never to be seen again.
2. Overspending: Hospices may continue to incur costs for equipment that is no longer in use, leading to unnecessary expenses.
3. Administrative Burden: Staff must spend valuable time tracking and managing the return of equipment, which detracts from their primary focus on patient care.

These challenges can be particularly frustrating when hospices are already stretched thin, managing multiple responsibilities and ensuring the best possible care for their patients. Delayed equipment pickups can also disrupt the care process, as timely availability of necessary equipment is crucial for new patients.

Qualis' Solution

At Qualis, we understand these pain points and have developed a system to ensure timely equipment pickup, regardless of the electronic medical record (EMR) system used by the hospice. Our new feature in the Qualis software can automatically trigger a pickup order on the DME vendor side as soon as a patient is discharged. This means:

1. Automated Pickup Requests: No more manual tracking or multiple follow-ups. Our system takes care of it, reducing the workload on your staff.
2. Reduced Administrative Work: Hospice staff no longer need to go through each invoice to ensure billing has stopped for each patient. This automation frees up significant time and resources.
3. Improved Communication: The automatic notifications ensure that DME vendors are immediately aware of the need for pickup, which streamlines the entire process.

Why This Matters

1. Less Lost Equipment: Automated pickup requests ensure that equipment is returned promptly, reducing the chances of items being lost or misplaced.
2. Cost Savings: By stopping billing immediately upon patient discharge, hospices can avoid overspending on equipment that is no longer in use.
3. Timely Pickup: Ensuring that equipment is picked up quickly means it can be maintained and reused for other patients sooner. This efficiency is crucial for providing continuous care without delays.

Real-Life Benefits

Qualis clients have reported significant improvements in their operations due to our automatic pickup feature. Danny Cox, Senior VP of Clinical Operations at Crossroads Hospice stated that,

"With Qualis, we no longer have to worry about chasing down equipment. The system takes care of everything, allowing us to focus more on our patients and less on paperwork."

Another benefit is improved scores. Timely equipment pickup positively impacts the family caregiver's experience, which is a key component of these surveys​​. Happy families and caregivers mean better scores and, ultimately, a better reputation for the hospice.

Conclusion

Closing the loop on DME management is about more than just efficiency—it's about providing better care and support for patients and their families. With Qualis' automated system, hospices can ensure timely equipment pickup, reduce administrative burdens, and save on costs. This allows hospice staff to focus on what they do best: providing compassionate care to those who need it most.

Switching to Qualis means embracing a system that understands and addresses the unique challenges of hospice care. If you're ready to experience the benefits of our innovative DME management solution, contact us today to learn more.