SOME HIGH-TECH decisions are made with low-tech reasoning.

For Wendy Fedeyko, vice president of Woodbridge (N.J.) Medical & Surgical Supply, the search for a computer system best suited to her company had all the normal motivations.

She wanted to replace her multiple platforms with one comprehensive program that could run all functions of her home medical equipment business, from third-party billing to the retail location to the growing wholesale component.

The one she settled on, Fastrack Healthcare Systems' HME product, came with a little bonus: Fastrack's Plainview, N.Y., headquarters is an hour's drive from Fedeyko's office.

"This might sound ridiculous, but they are based close enough that if I need to get some training, I can drive right there," says Fedeyko, who has worked nine years at the company her parents founded in 1977.

"I've gone there several times. If I buy a system from someone on the other side of the country, what are they going to charge me to come here for onsite training? What about airfare, hotels, meals? You spend enough on the system; it's crazy running up another bill."

However, Fedeyko says, Fastrack could have been right next door and she would not be a customer if the product did not fit her needs, which, she says, it does.

Fedeyko purchased the software last year. Previously, Woodbridge Medical & Surgical ran one program for its wholesale business operating from a warehouse; had another program for third-party billing to Medicare, Medicaid and managed care; and had no system other than a cash register at its 2,500-square-foot retail location.

Now, all billing for the 10-employee business is online with one central system, except for the payroll and accounts payable segments that will be added this summer.

Fedeyko estimates the cost of the entire system will be in the $20,000 to $25,000 range, and it was worth it. "It's beneficial to spend that money on a system because the reports it generates tell us where our money goes and who owes what for how many days," she says. "Before, we were fumbling through multiple systems and wasting time. This eliminates confusion."

Another benefit, she says, is the uniformity of the electronic billing and documentation, resulting in faster reimbursement from third parties because the data are complete the first time they are submitted.

"We do a lot of wholesale to hospitals and ambulances, and our inventory is diverse for an HME," she says. "The system has saved us a tremendous amount of money because now our off-site warehouses are online and we can keep track of what is there. That information is right at the tips of our fingers, which results in better customer service."

Fedeyko says the automation has not cut the amount of employees she has, but it has made everybody more efficient.

"I know I'm more productive," she says. "I'm doing a lot less data entry and that frees up time for me to do things I should have been doing but didn't have time to before." HC