Creating a seamless durable medical equipment experience

A deliberate, data-driven DME process becomes essential as health plans navigate rising DME demand while effectively managing expenses, delivering quality care and maintaining a high level of member satisfaction. By harnessing smart data and insights, health plans and key stakeholders can make informed decisions, monitor trends and predict future needs, which helps cut down on waste and unnecessary costs — without compromising care quality.

A well-structured DME process should intentionally connect health plans, clinicians, members and trusted DME suppliers. Every step — from equipment and supplier selection to authorizations to claims reviews — should be guided, compliant and efficient. This alignment supports accurate and timely delivery of equipment while minimizing administrative overhead and costly errors.

Systems that also go the extra mile to enhance communication and monitoring help smooth out the process. Seamless communication and real-time collaboration ensures issues are resolved faster and delays are reduced. Reporting and monitoring across the end-to-end process gives health plans a clear view of the entire DME management journey.

Clinicians can have a tough time ordering DME for their patients, relying on manual processes and navigating multiple portals and payer policies, which breeds complexity and frustration. 

A comprehensive process that integrates with electronic health records automatically showcases a health plan’s trusted DME supplier network and provides digital communication tools that can streamline the process. Clinicians can also improve order and authorization accuracy the first time, leading to faster processing and quicker delivery times. 

Connecting the DME care continuum from end-to-end also enables decision support at the point of care to help ensure the prescribed equipment matches the patient's needs and health plan policies. This means less paperwork and more time for patient care. In this environment, prior authorizations can be submitted electronically with real-time updates, all within the existing workflow, making everything smoother for clinicians and suppliers alike.

Commitment to innovation and efficiency in the DME ordering process can transform the experience for clinicians, making it easier and faster to get patients the equipment they need, ultimately leading to better patient outcomes and satisfaction. 

Members deserve more than just access to equipment — they deserve an experience that is easy, clear and reliable. In a reimagined DME process, that experience is built on trust, transparency and timely support. 

It starts with quality. By working with and connecting clinicians to trusted, vetted suppliers, health plans can ensure that all DME is appropriate, effective and delivered on time — giving members peace of mind from the start.

A deliberate, data-driven system also empowers members with information and control. By leveraging digital communication tools, members should be able to track orders in real-time, see their prescription history and get updates on their DME requests. 

Dedicated support teams can further enhance the experience. Whether it’s learning how to use a new device or solving delivery issues, a dedicated support team can provide personalized and timely help. This support makes sure members feel confident and cared for throughout the process.

Improved communication, real-time tracking and dedicated support, all through trusted partners, means members get what they need quickly and efficiently.

By optimizing spending for health plans, simplifying the ordering process for clinicians and improving the experience for members, there’s an opportunity to set a new standard in durable medical equipment management.

Optum is driving innovations and improvements in the process, looking at a future where the end-to-end DME process is smooth and hassle-free for everyone involved. This exciting journey towards a more efficient, transparent and reliable DME process benefits all stakeholders and ultimately leads to better patient care.