New resources to ease ordering and prescribing DME under Medicare

If you routinely order or prescribe oxygen, diabetes testing supplies, or other “durable medical equipment” (DME) for your Medicare beneficiaries, you know the administrative hassle and time drain this creates for you and your practice.

Part of the problem is trying to find and understand all of the related Medicare rules to ensure that your documentation for ordering or prescribing the DME is correct and does not require additional work to guarantee your patient gets what he or she needs from the DME supplier.

The DME Medicare administrative contractors are trying to help physicians and recently created some online resources for those who order or prescribe DME. These resources include checklists you can use when completing the appropriate documentation for DME. The information is applicable nationally under Medicare.

Reducing administrative hassles will save your practice time, and time saved usually helps the bottom line as well.

– Kent Moore, Senior Strategist for Physician Payment at the American Academy of Family Physicians