What I Wish I Knew: Hard-Won Lessons from a 30-Year Career in HME Consulting

This session will explore how technologies such as digital delivery, Text-to-Pay, AutoPAY, and intelligent payment reminders help organizations increase operational efficiency while meeting the expectations of today's healthcare consumer. Attendees will also learn how patient payment insights can be used to better understand payment behaviors and preferences, enabling more personalized financial engagement that drives higher payment rates and faster collections. Beyond achieving immediate operational gains, this session will discuss why a digital-first patient pay strategy is a critical investment for the future. Organizations that leverage automation and data-driven insights are better positioned to adapt to evolving patient expectations, optimize financial performance, and build a sustainable, technology-enabled revenue cycle that supports long-term growth.

HME providers are evolving beyond their traditonal role as product distributors to become critical care-coordination partners. The "last mile"-the final step in delivering medical supplies and equipment into the home-has become a strategic imperative for HME providers. Success within the last-mile is the key differentiator in patient experience, referral satisifcation, and healthcare outcomes.

HME providers are strengthening their last-mile strategies through improved visibility, digital workflows, proactive patient communication, automated resupply programs, and enhanced delivery coordination. The successful HME providers are leveraging relationships with logistics partners and technology vendors to extend their capabilities without increasing operational complexities.

This panel discussion will include the vantage point from a logistics provider, technology vendor, and a HME provider on the historical challenges faced within the last-mile. The objective will be to walk away with solution strategies to turn each challenge into an opportunity moving towards last-mile excellence.

Financial management and revenue cycle management often view the same DME business through different lenses. Finance measures profitability, liquidity, margins, forecasting, and long-term sustainability. RCM measures billing accuracy, collections, denials, accounts receivable, and revenue leakage. Neither view is complete on its own.

This session builds on growing industry interest in bringing these disciplines together. Through practical DME case examples, the presenters will demonstrate how revenue cycle activity flows into financial results, how financial trends can expose operational breakdowns, and why strong billing metrics do not always produce healthy cash flow or margins.

Attendees will examine common DME performance challenges involving revenue, cash flow, profitability, accounts receivable, reimbursement, payer and product mix, operational execution, and growth. Each example will show how finance and RCM may interpret the same issue differently, what information is needed to reach the right conclusion, and how leaders can align around an effective response.

Attendees will leave with a practical framework for connecting financial outcomes, revenue cycle performance, and operational activity. The result is better decision-making, stronger accountability, improved financial performance, and more sustainable growth.