The Top 10 Hospice DME Items: Q1 2026 Results

Every quarter, utilization patterns across hospice DME shift. The items being ordered most frequently tell you something about patient acuity, seasonal care patterns, and whether your formulary is actually built for the patients you're serving.

 This is the Q1 2026 breakdown of the most-ordered hospice DME items across Qualis's national network - 6,300+ vendor access points serving hospice agencies of all sizes - along with what we're already seeing as Q2 gets underway. If your team is seeing something different, it's worth asking why. 

The Top 10 Pieces of DME Used in Q1 of 2025

The Top 10 Hospice DME Items: Q1 2026 Results

1. Hospital Bed (Semi-Electric)

The standard of care for most hospice admissions. Semi-electric beds remain the highest-volume single item across nearly every census size and geographic market. Availability and delivery speed for this item should be a baseline requirement in any DME vendor agreement.

2. Bedside Commode

Consistently in the top two or three items across all quarters. Easy to underestimate in a formulary review because the unit cost is low - but the volume makes it a meaningful line item.

3. Wheelchair (Standard Transport)

Q2 typically shows a modest uptick in wheelchair orders as patients with ambulatory decline are more likely to need outdoor mobility support in warmer months.

4. Oxygen Concentrator

Oxygen demand in hospice remains high year-round. Q2 shows consistent concentrator volume with a slight increase in portable unit requests as warmer weather generates more patient activity outside the home.

5. Alternating Pressure Mattress (Low Air Loss)

Wound care and skin integrity needs continue to drive LAL mattress orders into the top five. If your formulary doesn't include LAL mattresses explicitly, these orders are hitting your non-formulary charges every time. Worth reviewing if your wound care volume is significant.

6. Walker (2-Wheel or 4-Wheel)

Mobility aids remain consistently ordered through Q2. The shift from 2-wheel to 4-wheel walkers reflects an aging-in-place patient population with higher balance and stability needs.

7. Over-Bed Table

Underordered relative to clinical need. Over-bed tables support eating, medication management, and patient independence - all direct quality-of-life contributors. Q2 data shows increasing ordering frequency as clinical teams focus more deliberately on patient comfort.

8. Bedside Commode with Drop Arms (Bariatric)

Bariatric equipment volume is a consistent and growing component of hospice DME. If your standard formulary doesn't separate bariatric items from standard items, you may be placing non-formulary orders for equipment your patient population regularly needs.

9. Nebulizer

Respiratory support equipment sees a Q2 increase tied to allergy season and the higher-acuity respiratory patients who typically enter hospice in late spring. Nebulizer orders often arrive alongside concentrator orders for the same patient.

10. Trapeze Bar

Trapeze bars support repositioning for bed-bound patients and reduce caregiver injury. Their presence in the top 10 reflects increasing attention to both patient safety and caregiver burden in the clinical documentation hospice teams are keeping.

What This Data Means for Your Formulary

The top 10 list is useful only if you compare it to your own formulary. Go through this list and check each item:

• Is it explicitly included in your formulary at no additional charge?
• Is the bariatric version also covered, or does it trigger a non-formulary charge?
• Is the standard item covered but the upgraded version (LAL vs. standard mattress) not?

Every item in the top 10 that isn't explicitly on your formulary is generating a separate charge every time a patient needs it. Across a census of 80 patients with regular turnover, those add-ons compound quickly.

How Hospice DME Per Diem Rates Get Calculated

Early Q2 Signals to Watch

A few weeks into Q2, a few patterns are already taking shape:

• Portable oxygen unit requests are climbing as patients and families seek more outdoor time
• Bariatric equipment volume is holding steady - this is no longer a seasonal pattern; it reflects the ongoing demographic shift in who is accessing hospice
• Over-bed table orders are continuing to climb as hospice clinical teams focus more attention on documenting and supporting patient independence at the bedside

A Note on Vendor Coverage for High-Volume Items

High-volume items require high-availability vendor networks. If your vendor is out of stock on hospital beds or doesn't carry low air loss mattresses, your clinical team is placing a call before they place an order.

Qualis works with 6,300+ vendor access points nationwide precisely because formulary items need to be available every time, in every market. When a primary vendor can't fill an order, a secondary vendor covers it. Your patient doesn't wait.

If you want to see how your current formulary and vendor coverage align with Q2 utilization patterns, that conversation starts here.