How Different is DME Billing from HME Billing
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Items that are essential for supporting a medical need have been referred to as durable medical equipment (DME).
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These include ambulatory aids, special hospital beds, oxygen tanks, wheelchairs, special commodes, compressors and more. Most of the health insurance companies including Medicare term these as DME benefits, of course only whenever a doctor says there was an absolute medical necessity for using any of these items.
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One curious aspect of DME billing is that though the item is described as DME, providing such items comes under HME billing, as it is essentially a home medical equipment service they are being used as.
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DME Billing •
In durable medical equipment billing, there is requirement of home assessment to ensure that the requisite safety requirements are met in the particular home for any prescribed item before it can be delivered or installed, as the case may be.
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Some of the home equipment billing companies insist on making sure if the equipment has been set-up by the people trained to do so.
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Companies providing DME billing services also insist on the recipients going through the instructions that detail the usage and operation, as well as maintenance.
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In case they encounter any operational failure they need to be able to seek assistance to set things right.
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HME Billing •
When it comes to home medical equipment (HME), the providers need to ensure that hire and train the related staff in aspects like insurance coverage provided by insurance carriers for all DME items.
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DME billing services includes being in communication with medical professionals and staying in communication with the ailing patients as well as the paramedical caregivers. The home medical equipment billing companies need to ensure that the proper instructions for operation and maintenance of DME items are give.
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Part of HME billing services providers includes verifying whether proper sanitation and reconditioning of returned DME items was carried out and whether safe transportation practices (vehicles) and maintenance processes were adopted.
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