With last month's competitive bidding delay, the home medical equipment industry has dodged another bullet — at least for now. But does that mean providers should spend any less time analyzing their businesses to keep tabs on costs or to see where any hidden efficiencies might lie?

The answer, of course, is no; there are plenty of other things to worry about, rising fuel costs and continuing questions on oxygen reimbursement among them. Technological innovations that can improve the way your business operates are more important than ever and, in that spirit, HomeCare asked some of the software and technology companies seeking your business what questions they most frequently receive from you.

Keeping in mind that they represent only a partial picture of the products that are available, and realizing there are questions that will be application-specific, here are (in no particular order) the most common general questions these companies say they hear, along with their answers.

Q: Where do I begin?

While the seemingly endless options available in the world of technology are certainly a blessing, they can also be daunting. Given all of the possibilities, how does an HME decide which avenue to pursue?

Spencer Kay, president of Fastrack Healthcare Systems, Plainview, N.Y., tells HMEs to take a look at their operation as it is “right now” to see where technology can help. Find the most labor-intensive functions, like order entry, customer service or routing delivery drivers. “A lot of companies have too many people doing the same kinds of tasks,” Kay says, a situation that business management technology can help them improve.

Berkeley Heights, N.J.-based Authentidate also gets the question about where to begin, says Seth Loonan, the company's director of marketing. More often than not, he says, it comes from small- to mid-size providers who either have had a bad experience on the systems side or may not have automated at all.

“We typically tell them that you can't always tackle everything at once,” Loonan says. Not any one system — even his own — does everything for everybody, he says. “We tell them to look at the important parts of their workflow and the important parts of their paper cycle to see what's not working … and to try to focus on the system that will solve most of those problems most cost effectively.”

Kay says HME companies looking for new technology also tend to focus too much on billing. “Billing today in this world is simplistic,” he says. “Sending out a claim electronically, getting back an electronic remittance notice — all of that today is really very common and simple. For the most part, all the software companies do it.”

According to Kay, providers should also look at what functionality a software product can provide to the entire organization. Noting that HME is an inventory-intense business, he says inventory and delivery operations are where the costs are high and major inefficiencies can be found. Since HMEs are really about providing equipment, it's kind of a contradiction to focus on billing, he says.

“It sounds obvious, but when it comes to buying software, I'm not sure most people see that,” he says.

In addition, most companies don't make the most of the technology they already have, notes Edward Kutt, president of Diabco Medical Billing Systems, Delray Beach, Fla. “We have people that have been using our system for years and that don't utilize all of the features,” he says.

Diabco saw a recent flurry of interest in bar coding, a feature that was already a part of its offering. “I guess people are finally realizing that they need to find more ways to automate the things that they do,” says Kutt. “The systems are feature-rich, but users don't always take advantage of the existing features.”

Q: Should I select an Internet-based or a server-based software solution?

These days, providers have a wide range of choices, from specialized software that gets loaded onto the company's in-house equipment or a soup-to-nuts Web-based system. And according to Ed Bauer, sales manager for Deerfield, Fla.-based Noble House, figuring out which best suits your company's needs is critical.

“The question of a server-based system versus remotely-based software and database (ASP) is paramount in determining the choice of software,” he says. “For either of these solutions, PC hardware, printers and scanners, networks and high-speed access to the Web is required. Remote access to program and database can be achieved with either of these solutions.”

Companies also want to know what features they should look for, Bauer says. The answer? “Today's DME provider requires comprehensive, integrated software,” he notes.