Q: How does an in-office DME program improve patient experience and satisfaction?
Greg Myers: With a DME program, you have a one-stop shop for patients. For example, if you were undergoing a knee replacement surgery and the office did not have this type of program, your physician would write you a prescription for DME, such as for, perhaps, crutches, a knee mobilizer and a brace. The patient then goes somewhere else to get that prescription filled, and that can be an added burden, especially for elderly patients or patients in pain. With a DME program, patients can simply go down the hall to have a DME prescription filled and receive education about how to use the product. Everything is under one roof. DME programs also allow physicians to select products from various manufacturers, which isn’t always doable under different DME arrangements. However, in-house DME programs are still somewhat uncommon. Only about 15-20 percent of practices have these types of programs.
It’s also a marketing service for the practice. Patients spread information about their experiences through word of mouth. If things go well, they will share that with others, which makes a DME program a great marketing tool for a practice. If a patient can see a physician, get an MRI, schedule surgery, get fitted for a brace and learn how to use crutches all in one stop, the convenience of that experience is likely to be shared with others.
Q: Are in-house DME programs financially beneficial to practices?
GM: Numerous changes in reimbursement in addition to liability insurance increases all seem to be working against physicians in general and especially orthopedic physicians. Under an OrthoRx’s model, the practice bills payors for DME, so the DME revenue comes back to the practice. Our model also provides each practice with a full-time DME coordinator, who is usually an athletic trainer, to oversee ordering and dispensing DME as well as educating patients on how to correctly use the DME and how it works.
Q: Is it common for practices to have an athletic trainer on staff to educate patients on using DME?
GM: Most practices use a medical assistant or nurse assistant to apply the product, and, in many cases, what is happening here is the staff member is reading the directions and putting the product on the patient. Athletic trainers know how to put it on and why it’s going on, as well as how it’s going to help the patients. Patients receive education along with the product.
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