Intake (DME Operations)
The patient intake process — receiving a prescription or referral, verifying insurance, obtaining prior authorization, and scheduling delivery.
Intake in a DME business is the front-end process that converts a physician referral or prescription into a scheduled equipment delivery. The typical intake workflow includes receiving the order (fax, EHR interface, or portal), verifying patient demographics, confirming insurance coverage, obtaining prior authorization if required, gathering clinical documentation, and scheduling a delivery appointment.
The intake team is responsible for ensuring that all documentation is complete before equipment is dispatched. A delivery that goes out without a valid order, confirmed insurance, or required PA exposes the supplier to a claim denial — a claim that may not surface until months later during billing reconciliation.
Intake is also where the customer (patient or facility) record is established in the supplier's system. Linking the patient record to their insurance, physician, and address is foundational for both billing and for inventory management — the equipment delivery record must connect to a patient for proper tracking and for Medicare documentation.
Efficient intake operations depend on clear handoffs between intake coordinators, billing staff, and the warehouse team. Delays in intake create bottlenecks: patients waiting for equipment, orders aging without action, and warehouse staff uncertain what to stage for delivery.