It almost goes without saying, but the home delivery of medical equipment, drugs and supplies is perhaps the primary function of every HME and Home Infusion provider. Every day, tens of thousands of deliveries and pick-ups of drugs, supplies and medical equipment are made by providers nationwide. For the vast majority of these providers, this core function is very manual, paper-based and un-automated.

Currently, most providers print multiple copies of each Delivery Ticket and divide the deliveries by service area and/or driver. As deliveries are made, the driver has the patient sign a copy of the paper Delivery Ticket and leaves a second copy with the patient. When routes are complete, the drivers give the signed DT’s to someone in the office who manually confirms each ticket, editing the items and quantities as needed.

Sounds familiar, right? So what’s the problem?

Plenty. Delays in confirming DT’s adversely affect the accuracy of inventory when supplies are deducted and equipment is assigned. Confirmation delays also hold up the billing process, resulting in increased DSO. Finally, paper copies of the signed DT’s must be stored for years in order to assure proof of delivery.

In addition, this manual process makes it difficult to assign a driver a “new delivery” mid-route, after he/she has left the office. Instead, the driver must return to the office to get the paper DT for the patient to sign, even if they have the necessary supplies or equipment on the truck. The providers can’t see which drivers have which deliveries, where they are in real-time (and therefore are unable to determine who is closest and best able to respond to a new delivery or pick-up) or how many deliveries have been made and how many are left in a route.

What’s a provider to do?

CPR+ customers have two options to automate many critical Delivery Management functions with CPR+ Scan and CPR+ Web Portal with Smartphone Integration. Developed and supported by D.H.S. Programmers and Customer Support staff, these apps are continually enhanced and very affordable. CPR+ Smartphone is available with Web Portal, a web-based application that securely displays CPR+ data to end-users who have a valid login. The “employee” login allows access to CPR+ data from a “Smartphone” – any cell phone capable of accessing the Internet (e.g., a Blackberry, iPhone or Windows Mobile device).

Delivery Management Features of CPR+ Smartphone include the ability to:

• View and work from “Delivery Routes” created in CPR+, seeing all patient deliveries assigned to each driver for any particular day,
• View an electronic version of the actual Delivery Ticket, including all items and quantities to be delivered,
• Edit supply quantities on the electronic Delivery Ticket,
• Receive a “new” Delivery Ticket from the office in mid-route,
• Indicate, in real-time, when the delivery has been completed and transmit that information back to CPR+.

In addition, CPR+ Smartphone allows delivery personnel to:

• View & edit patient demographic information, including home address and shipping address, phone numbers and direction to the patient’s home,
• View Google maps for the patient’s home and shipping addresses,
• “One-click dial” the patients home, work or cell number,
  View previous delivery tickets and previously delivered equipment by SN
• View the patient’s physicians, ancillary care providers, payors and emergency contact info, including “one-click dial” to all of the above,
• View / edit the patient’s medical info, including Ht/Wt, Diagnosis, etc., current medication list, progress notes and more.

Delivery Tickets completed on Smartphone immediately appear in the Delivery Ticket Confirmation File highlighted, tagged and ready to batch confirm with one click. Many additional enhancements are currently under development, including the ability for the driver to add a comment regarding the patient or the delivery on the device and have it immediately sent back into CPR+, as a To Do, Message or Progress Note.

Providers who automate their delivery management process will realize significant cost savings, increased efficiencies and many other tangible improvements in their operation - better inventory management, reduced delivery costs, quicker and more accurate claim creation and lower DSO. For more information on CPR+ Smartphone or to schedule a private demonstration, contact Erika Salvato today at 866-277-4876.

In next week’s issue, we’ll discuss how CPR+ Scan can automate even more delivery management functions and how this module is being enhanced in 2010.

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Make plans NOW to attend the 2nd Annual CPR+ HME Summit, on Wednesday, March 10th in Columbus, Ohio. Last year’s invitation-only conference was so successful that we’ve decided to make it an annual event. The primary purpose is to dialogue with current HME providers about the business challenges you are facing and to gather feedback and insight as to how we can best help you meet those challenges.

We will also be demonstrating new functionality, as well as gathering ideas and prioritizing new HME related enhancements. Network with your peers, discuss best practices and have input to our development priorities. Mark your calendars today - Attendance is FREE. Look for registration details in upcoming issues of the Weekly Infusion. We hope to see you there!

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