Mobility Equipment
Wheelchairs, walkers, scooters, and crutches prescribed to restore or maintain a patient's ability to move within their home.
Mobility equipment is one of the highest-transaction categories in the HME industry. Items include manual wheelchairs, power wheelchairs (PWCs), power-operated vehicles (scooters), rollators, standard walkers, and crutches. Each category has its own Medicare coverage criteria, billing codes, and documentation requirements.
Power wheelchairs are among the most scrutinized DME items — historically a focus of Medicare fraud investigations — which makes documentation and tracking especially important. Suppliers must maintain proof of face-to-face examination, a detailed product description, and ongoing maintenance records for complex rehab technology.
Mobility aids have high recirculation rates. Walkers and manual wheelchairs especially move in and out of the rental pool frequently, making them prone to being misplaced or written off prematurely. A walker left at a nursing facility after a patient's discharge can sit for months before anyone notices it's missing.
Serial number tracking allows a supplier to know which specific wheelchair is at which patient address, schedule the next maintenance check, and retrieve it promptly when the rental ends — rather than discovering it is missing during a cycle count.