One of my favorite television commercials shows a professional woman at a business meeting. When the camera pans down, you see that she is sitting at her kitchen table in fuzzy slippers, looking at a computer screen.
by Gail Walker, Editor-in-Chief

One of my favorite television commercials shows a professional
woman at a business meeting. When the camera pans down, you see
that she is sitting at her kitchen table in fuzzy slippers, looking
at a computer screen.

The image reflects how radically the world’s workplace is
changing as new technology woos us with its possibilities.

Just look around in this industry. We can see the future in
amazing new products like stair-climbing wheelchairs, assistive
robots and body-washing machines. Health professionals already make
virtual house calls to monitor their patients from remote
locations, and specialists can participate in devising complicated
rehab systems far from their customers.

Information technology is driving changes no less extreme on the
business side of HME: electronic CMNs, automated inventory
replacement, management systems that streamline administration and
enhance patient service.

In the bigger picture, President Bush wants to speed IT into
health care, calling for electronic health records for every
American in 10 years. HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson has the
blueprint for a new health information infrastructure that includes
EHRs, along with an interoperable network to link the records
nationwide. He believes the decade-long program will do nothing
less than transform the delivery of health care.

Harnessing the efficiencies of a centralized information system
would certainly help HME providers. But the current reality is that
for most, participation will require a leap of faith into the
electronic age. Forget workflow automation and the paperless
office. Forget online applications in real-time. Some providers are
still struggling to comply with electronic claims submission.
Others say they can’t afford such sophisticated systems.

According to HomeCare’s recent Reimbursement
Survey, only 70 percent of responding providers are using HME
software for the tasks most basic to their business, like billing
and accounts receivable. Even fewer (45 percent) use it for
tracking inventory, a job that, in other industries, has been
computerized for years.

The most shocking statistic shows that 23 percent do not use HME
software at all.

Clearly, there must be some fast changes in providers’
embrace of IT, which at best, can be described as apprehensive.

If you are one of those who is hanging back, the question is no
longer whether you can afford to invest in technology and
applications that will help your business run better, but what will
happen if you don’t. It’s time to get out your fuzzy
slippers—and get connected.