Tag: oxygen equipment

YARMOUTH, Maine - A large majority of respondents to a recent HME Newspoll (69%) say they won't buy products from manufacturers that are selling direct to consumers.“If the manufacturers choose to chase this business, we should, as an industry, stand together and refuse to carry their products,” wrote one respondent. “These manufacturers may deny it, but they have decided they can grow their business without us.”Invacare and Philips recently joined Inogen in selling portable...

WASHINGTON - A recent study from the American Thoracic Society correlates with findings of the HME Patient Access Study sponsored by AAHomecare, according to an association bulletin. Dobson DaVanzo & Associates has put together a summary of how the ATS study, “Patient Perceptions of the Adequacy of Supplemental Oxygen Therapy: Results of the American Thoracic Society Nursing Assembly Oxygen Working Group Survey,” reinforces findings of the patient access survey. In particular, both studies...

BOSTON - Home oxygen patients say they are unable to access equipment to meet their needs, according to a new survey unveiled at ATS 2017 this week. The ATS Nursing Assembly Working Group surveyed 1,926 people and unearthed equipment issues like heaviness of tanks and portable oxygen concentrators that don't meet their needs; and access issues like not being able to change suppliers, according to an article in RT Magazine. As a result, patients say they have lower quality of life. “Patients...

HINGHAM, Mass. - NHIC found a 44% denial rate for oxygen and oxygen equipment as part of a review of claims filed between Jan. 1, 2014, and March 31, 2014. The Jurisdiction A DME MAC reports responses to additional documentation requests were not received for 59% of the claims. For the same time period, the NHIC found a 64.3% denial rate for CPAP devices. Oxygen claims were most frequently denied for missing documentation; failing to meet written order prior to delivery requirements; and failing...

WASHINGTON - CMS has announced that, effective immediately, it will allow the replacement of oxygen equipment when suppliers exit the business. In a bulletin this week, CMS stated that, under such circumstances, it will now consider the equipment lost and start a new 36-month rental period for the new supplier on the date the equipment is furnished. CMS noted that suppliers exiting the business without transferring patients to new suppliers are in violation of statutory and regulatory requirements.

WASHINGTON - More than half of all claims for oxygen concentrators get denied, and providers say they face an uphill battle in improving that.For one thing, there's a lot of pressure to get oxygen quickly to patients when they are discharged from the hospital.“Hospitals will promise you'll get the documentation soon, but a lot of times, it doesn't happen,” says Chris Rice, CEO of Diamond Respiratory Care in Riverside, Calif.For his part, Rice won't fill orders without the required paperwork,...

When it comes to getting physicians to properly document for Medicare, power mobility devices aren't the only products that create headaches for providers.Therapies like oxygen and CPAP also require detailed documentation, which, if not properly noted in the doctor's notes, means that providers won't get paid.So when CMS in March said it would develop an electronic clinical template for power mobility devices, providers in other markets took notice.“I think it would be useful in every market,”...