The Hidden Costs of Poor Hospice DME Delivery

Running a successful hospice requires a lot of moving parts, all of which must work together to deliver quality patient care. With that said, unexpected disruptions — like delivery delays — can easily throw a wrench into your day-to-day operations. Not only does this impact your patients’ quality of life, delays also place an additional burden on your staff through overtime hours, rushed last-minute orders, and loss of patient trust. 

The good news is that with the right strategies and systems in place, you can maintain high standards of hospice DME delivery performance, ensuring patients receive what they need when they need it.

Direct Financial Costs

There are financial repercussions when DME deliveries don’t go smoothly. DME delays may require costly re-orders to get the right equipment to patients, sometimes doubling the expense for a single item. To make up for lost time, you may be forced to pay for expedited shipping on top of the equipment fee. 

Additionally, your staff must put in overtime hours to track down missing equipment, coordinate with vendors, and rearrange schedules to accommodate late deliveries. These unplanned expenses add up, eating up revenue and pulling focus away from patients.

Indirect Costs That Hurt More

Beyond the immediate financial impact, delays in DME delivery also carry hidden operational costs, which can snowball quickly into a major financial blow for your business. Patients and families who experience frustration over missing equipment often lead to lower CAHPS scores, which affect both reputation and Medicare reimbursement. 

Staff morale can also suffer as care teams scramble to adapt to delays, leading to burnout and higher turnover rates. Over time, this cycle of dissatisfaction can weaken community trust and erode the strong relationships that hospices work hard to build.

How Poor Delivery Disrupts Care

When medical equipment isn’t ready on time, hospice admissions may have to be delayed, leaving patients without critical support. Even after admission, staff may need to reschedule visits around late deliveries, further hindering your ability to provide timely care. Meanwhile, caregivers can become overwhelmed as they struggle to provide basic comfort without the necessary tools.

The Root Causes

In most cases, hospice DME performance is influenced by vendor action — or lack thereof. Here are some of the reasons why you may experience a delay in your DME deliveries:

Vendor Shortages

Vendor shortages can create bottlenecks in the hospice supply chain. When multiple facilities attempt to order from the same batch of items, the resulting backorders often lead to further delays.

Outdated Systems

Outdated ordering and tracking systems make it difficult to monitor deliveries in real time or catch errors before they cause issues.

Lack of Accountability

One of the best ways to ensure all deliveries go smoothly is to assign one person to be in charge of hospice equipment turnaround. If the vendor fails to demonstrate a similar level of accountability, you may face occasional order delays.

What Metrics Reveal Performance Gaps

Use quantifiable data as a tool to determine if a potential DME vendor aligns with the goals of your organization. Here are the metrics you should ask for during your DME evaluation:

• Delivery timeliness
• Fulfillment accuracy
• Average turnaround

The Ripple Effect on Patient Families

Because family satisfaction is a key component of your long-term success as a business, it’s pertinent to maintain a high level of client trust. On the surface, timely deliveries contribute to a more efficient workflow. More importantly, they provide families with confidence in your organization.

In short, families need to experience peace of mind before deciding on a hospice facility. Taking action to provide consistent, timely deliveries is an easy way to demonstrate superior quality of care, helping you build a reputation as a trusted name in the hospice space.

How Qualis Solves This Problem

Planning ahead helps you catch DME delivery delays early, preventing any potential issues before they can disrupt care. To improve your hospice DME delivery performance, look for vendors that prioritize transparency for its customers. 

Qualis is a trusted industry leader, providing access to a robust DME vendor network and a suite of tools for ultimate transparency and accountability. Real-time tracking and centralized reporting give immediate insight into delivery timetables. Vendor scorecards provide a clear way to evaluate performance over time. 

Combined with ongoing performance monitoring, these tools can help you boost efficiency in your hospice supply chain.

Final Takeaway

Due to the direct and indirect costs of delays, hospice DME delivery performance directly impacts both your financial performance and ability to provide care. At Qualis, we offer business management services that can help you fulfill your mission to deliver compassionate, effective hospice care. 

Contact us for testimonials, whitepages and ebooks, and more reasons why Qualis should be your go-to partner in DME management. Then, schedule a consultation with Qualis to identify gaps in your delivery performance and discuss possible solutions.