Earning Your Credentials

I hope that you have read the February and March 2004 issues of HomeCare magazine very carefully. Among a series of articles advising providers on doing business in these changing times, the importance of accreditation is clearly described.

Now, I want to play the Devil’s Advocate. Do we need accreditation?

The meaning of accreditation is that someone (of authority) has sanctioned or provided credentials or certification that the recipient has met or complied with specific standards. At a Medtrade Spring panel discussion in Las Vegas, several of the industry’s accrediting organizations made presentations re-viewing their individual programs and respective benefits.

What is interesting is that all of these programs have one common thread: They show DME/HME dealers ways to run their businesses more efficiently, and in complete compliance with all legislation and regulations, both federal and local. Equally important, accreditation helps assure the quality of care and service provided to the patient by an HME company. All this can help on any dealer’s bottom line.

Big Step Forward

Having said that, the fact that some states already have passed licensure laws is a giant step forward, and my hope is that the rest of the states also will pass such legislation. Licensure is recognition by the state that the dealer has met specific standards, and it acknowledges the dealer’s compliance.

This licensing is not unique. Physicians, pharmacists, nurses and most other health care providers require licenses. After discussing this issue with many people, including providers, industry leaders, manufacturers, politicians and patients, I have come to the conclusion that our industry must have state licensure for every DME/HME dealer.

One reason for licensure given by most of those I have spoken with is that our industry needs some form of policing. After it is issued, a license can be suspended or revoked. Revocation will push out some of the miscreants that have sullied good providers’ reputations. So I repeat, do we need accreditation?

After working with DME dealers for many years, I can say that no matter how efficiently your business is run, accreditation will definitely enable you to improve your company and its operation even further.

HME Professionals Should Be Seen as Such

I recommend without hesitation that every provider — no matter how small or large — become accredited. Under provisions of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act, aka MMA, providers will have to be accredited to participate in Medicare, in other words, to be reimbursed by Medicare and to take part in competitive bidding.

Each of the accrediting oganizations has prepared programs for dealers that are exemplary. I suggest you choose the program you are most comfortable with, and then begin working to earn accreditation.

And to answer my question: We need accreditation because it will be a major benefit to our profession. We need standards that accreditation will help bring about. DME/HME companies are well run by excellent professionals and should be recognized and acknowledged as such. We need accreditation to make our industry viable.

Sheldon “Shelly” Prial is based in Melbourne, Fla., with Prial Consulting and also serves as the director of government relations for Atlanta-based Graham-Field Health Products. In 1987, he founded the Homecare Providers Co-Op, now part of The VGM Group. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at 321/255-3885.