LAS VEGAS – Medtrade Spring attendees already know that ruthlessly efficient billing/reimbursement software (in-house or outsourced) is essential in 2018. Providers looking to upgrade and/or switch their billing system will have an amazing chance to sample, see, and speak with representatives from several different companies when Medtrade Spring convenes March 27-29, 2018, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.

“When I was starting my own company, Medtrade Spring made it really easy for me to go find my accreditation company, software company, etc.,” says Robin Nyberg, owner, CPAP & More, Sparks, Nevada. “It’s the best place to go to have all your vendors and all your products in one spot. On the west coast, there is nothing like Medtrade Spring.”

For those who have already registered for Medtrade Spring, or who may be pondering registration, advance rates are still in effect. In part two of its software spotlight, Medtrade Monday again spoke with additional exhibiting software companies to get a feel for what Medtrade Spring attendees can expect when the show starts on March 27 (Expo Floor opens March 28).

Medtrade Monday: Why is the right billing/reimbursement software and/or system so important for today’s HME providers?

Kimberly Commito, director of Product Management, Mediware Information Systems: HME Providers are challenged with constant reimbursement cutbacks and audits.  Without automation, provided via a solid reimbursement and business operations software solution, efficiency is compromised and cost to do business inherently rises.  HME Reimbursement software solutions provide automated coding and charge calculation, along with tracking and documentation repository options that are imperative to the ongoing management of patient finance, in this ever changing HME landscape.

Bruce Gehring, senior vice president, Business Development, Allegiance Group: With reimbursement cuts and increased patient responsibility, providers need to focus on Private Pay collections. As a result, more HME providers are outsourcing private pay billing and collections. The right partner can help HME providers accelerate the billing and collection process in order to recover their A/R balances faster, reduce their collection costs and improve staff productivity.

Steve Goode, vice president of Sales at SnapWorx: Billing and reimbursement are very difficult and costly if you don’t process orders correctly up front.  Our software both automates many of the order processing tasks and pre-audits orders before shipping so that our customers pass 98% of their audits.  Working an order twice because of mistakes makes them unprofitable – never having a human touch perfect orders make them very profitable.  Come see how we do it at the SnapWorx booth.

John Stalnaker, vice president, Sales, ACU-Serve Corp: In today’s climate, software has to provide more than just inventory, claims processing and payment posting. With the combination of audits, reimbursement cuts and strict timely filling timeframes, providers are forced to get more efficient while adding as little cost as possible. Having complete visibility into the entire revenue cycle is vital, however visibility is just the tip of the iceberg. Providers have to couple the data coming out of these systems with workflow that actually decreases the time it takes to get paid. ACU-Serve has always been data driven. We track, trend and react to the outcomes of our staff interacting with a claim and work with our customers to eliminate unnecessary touches and processes that delay payments.

Medtrade Monday: Why did you decide to exhibit at Medtrade Spring?

Kimberly Commito, director of Product Management, Mediware Information Systems: We always enjoy the chance to talk with providers and understand their business and challenges they face each day, and offer solutions on how software automation can address those challenges and streamline their business operations. Medtrade is a great opportunity to learn from the industry and hear front and center what providers are going through each day.

Bruce Gehring, senior vice president, Business Development, Allegiance Group: Medtrade appeals to HME providers who are interested in growing their business and preparing themselves for the future. We want to work with providers who are looking for ways to improve their billing and collection processes to increase cash flow.

Steve Goode, vice President of Sales at SnapWorx: This is a great event for spending time with DMEs in the Western United States. There is always great energy at Medtrade Spring.

John Stalnaker, vice president, Sales, ACU-Serve Corp: ACU-Serve is a longtime supporter of Medtrade. This is the largest venue in the HME industry and it allows ACU-Serve to gain exposure to all the key providers.

Medtrade Monday: What can Medtrade Spring attendees expect to see and/or experience at your booth?

Kimberly Commito, director of Product Management, Mediware Information Systems: Focusing your employees on their specific tasks and driving them through a process that supports efficiency, is key. CareTend has configuration options within the application that allow you and your employees to tailor that flow to their responsibilities.  Dashboards track important key operational tasks, such as Delivery Confirmations, Patient Contact and Recurring Supplies, in real time with real access to the bottlenecks as they occur.

Analysis of the data gathered in HME systems is key to understanding the health and well being of an HME business.  The data required to process claims effectively and accurately can speak volumes on overall cost management and reimbursement accuracy and leveraging tools that can help you see into the areas of the business that are successful, as well as challenged, can be a game changer.  The Mediware Business Intelligence options do just that.  It takes the data you are already gathering on your patients and their reimbursement and gives you insight to the health of those processes.  Are you leveraging your contracts appropriately?  Are you containing cost and tracking inventory properly to maximaize your reimbursement dollars? Are you operationally efficient and using the software to its fullest extent ot support your business? The Business Intelligence tools in CareTend can answer those questions.

Bruce Gehring, senior vice president, Business Development, Allegiance Group: Allegiance Group’s philosophy incorporates the best billing and collection practices to help drive faster recovery and a higher rate of return. At our booth, attendees will learn how to:

• Design a better private pay billing and collection process through COLLECTPlus. This four-phase, automated billing and collection system includes an integrated patient payment portal and call center.
• Collect and securely store payment information upfront to increase their patient A/R recovery. The payment portal also offers a variety of payment options and payment plans.
• Improve by their staff’s efficiency or reduce their labor costs by having professional call center representatives handle a variety of inbound customer calls.

Allegiance Group continually works with all major billing software system to enhance COLLECTPlus and its Payment Portal. We strive to guarantee the best client experience for the HME provider and their customers.

Steve Goode, vice President of Sales at SnapWorx: We will help customers understand more about how to use automation and analytics to drive a world class CPAP resupply program.  There is no platform on the market that has real time analytics like Snap.  We believe every time a DME serves a new CPAP patient – that service should turn into a recurring stream of profit to help the DME serve more patients.  Come check out the SnapWorx booth to see the future of DME software.  We’d love to show you what we’ve built and get your input.  Ideas from providers drive our design, and we are always enhancing our platform to stay ahead of the competition.

John Stalnaker, vice president, Sales, ACU-Serve Corp: ACU-Serve will be focusing on our proprietary workflow tool ACU-Insight. With data mining and business analytics being the main focus of discussion, ACU-Serve can show providers how we manage data more effectively to make our team more efficient.

Medtrade Monday: For providers who are looking to change and/or upgrade their billing software/systems, what is the most important factor they should consider?

Kimberly Commito, director of Product Management, Mediware Information Systems: HME software solutions must provide insight and support efficiency in your daily operations.  The cost of doing business can be high when you are managing paper, doing tasks manually and not leveraging technology to speed up the process, providing more time to do what is important, which is care for your patients.

Bruce Gehring, senior vice president, Business Development, Allegiance Group: The philosophy of their billing partner. The growth of an a HME business depends on repeat customers. Any partner is an extension of its reputation, so the software/system should be a true partner — following the HME’s business rules and treating its customers with respect.

Steve Goode, vice President of Sales at SnapWorx: How much and what kind of work is being done by the software are the two key questions. If your software isn’t reducing the number of employees you need in the back office – you are looking at the wrong software.  If your front-line employees are still required to make complex decisions that can lose your company money through mistakes, rework, and write offs – you are looking at the wrong software. We have a different philosophy for how we partner with DMEs to increase the profitability of their business.  If you’re interested in growing revenue or reducing overhead expenses, stop by the SnapWorx booth and we’ll show you how we do both of those things better than any other software on the market.

John Stalnaker, vice president, Sales, ACU-Serve Corp: How does it affect their bottom line! Sometimes making a software change is a knee jerk reaction to a drop in cash or a bad year financially. Providers need to focus on the root cause of issues and make sure that its not a result of poor processes and lack of true management.

Click Here to Register for Medtrade Spring, scheduled for March 27-29, 2018, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.