Get Need-to-Know Facts on Ordering Durable Medical Equipment

And the rules and restrictions when ordering DME for Medicare patients are particularly cumbersome.

To help ease the strain on already overburdened practices, CMS Medicare administrative contractors recently created new online resources for physicians to ensure they have all the necessary documentation in place.

Included in the recently added materials are easy-to-use checklists tailored to specific DME products that family physicians often prescribe for their patients, such as nebulizers, canes and crutches, and glucose monitors and related supplies.

Getting the appropriate documentation completed correctly the first time will help reduce the administrative burden association with DME prescribing, thereby saving physicians time and money.

This important resource webpage, with a bevy of other items that should interest family physicians, was last updated on Sept. 25, so physicians who haven't checked there recently would do well to take a few minutes to browse the available offerings.