Optum Launches DME Benefit Management Solution to Streamline Access to Care

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minnesota—Optum Insight launched DME Navigator, an end-to-end solution for durable medical equipment (DME) benefits management that will speed the process of delivering durable medical equipment to patients who need it, while improving health outcomes and reducing costs, Optum said.

“Ensuring patients have timely access to DME is a growing challenge,” said Beth Merle, senior vice president of affordability and value enablement, Optum. “DME Navigator will help health plans and DME suppliers deliver the equipment patients need more quickly and affordably.”

The DME market is rapidly expanding and is expected to reach around $93 billion by 2030, fueled by an aging population and increased prevalence of chronic disease. Currently, 60% of Americans have a chronic condition with four out of 10 having two or more.

DME Navigator addresses several challenges ensuring patients get the right medical equipment at the right time, including:

A Digital experience that saves clinicians time

• The end-to-end experience streamlines each step of the process from ordering to delivery and payment.
• A seamless digital ordering experience for clinicians enabling them to fill orders 90% faster.
• Electronic health record (EHR) integrated workflows with access to more than 3,000 supplier locations enables providers to initiate equipment orders promptly, while ensuring patients receive necessary equipment without delays.
• Additionally, Optum continues to expand access to limited distribution channels and to add qualified suppliers to rural areas.

More transparency and greater communication

• Digital communication tools allow patients and ordering clinicians to chat with the suppliers directly, giving everyone visibility into the status of the equipment and greater insight into the cost of equipment and while maintaining payment accuracy.

Quicker access to appropriate care

• Optum’s new solution is integrated with evidence-based criteria for key DME products to help clinicians make the most informed and clinically appropriate care decisions which can avoid overprescribing or ordering inappropriate equipment, while ensuring patients receive equipment that meets their clinical needs.

Meeting patient needs at home

• Allows patients to manage chronic conditions in the comfort of their homes.
• Patients can quickly access necessary equipment such as blood pressure monitors, glucometers and other devices which allow for regular monitoring and early intervention where seventy-three percent of patients say they prefer to recover.

DME Navigator is available now. Learn more at Optum/DME Navigator.