Durable Medical Equipment Coordinator

Established in 1980, the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center (GLFHC) is a multi-site mission-driven non-profit organization employing over 700 staff whose primary focus is providing the highest quality patient care to residents throughout the Merrimack Valley. Nationally recognized as a leader in community medicine (family practice, pediatrics, internal medicine, and geriatrics), GLFHC has clinical sites throughout the service area and is the sponsoring organization for the Lawrence Family Medicine Residency program.

Position Summary:

The Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Coordinator “Coordinator” is primarily responsible to ensure the ordering and securing of DME and other medical supplies for the patients at GLFHC is timely, efficient, and meets payer and other regulatory guidelines. The Coordinator serves as a primary point of contact for DME and medical suppliers in the greater Lawrence area, including fostering positive relationships with key stakeholders involved in the ordering and delivery process. In this role, the Coordinator will stay current in documentation and coding knowledge required to ensure coverage criteria is met, including meeting medical necessity criteria. As a liaison between the GLFHC ordering clinician and the patient, the coordinator keeps the ICT informed of any barriers to securing DME and medical supplies for the patient and assists in addressing any issues that delay equipment delivery. The coordinator is a self-directed subject matter expert and serves as a resource for the clinical team.

Job Responsibilities and Performance Standards:

• Maintains relationships with DME and medical suppliers in the community.
• Maintains working knowledge of medical necessity and coverage guidelines for DME and medical supplies.
• Reviews DME requests and ensures completed and accurate documentation prior to clinician signature and contacting DME providers.
• Serves as primary point of contact for DME suppliers to address any documentation and or medical necessity issues that are barriers to securing equipment.
• Communicates with patients as needed to ensure supplies and equipment concerns are addressed.
• Refers complex patients to the CHW on the ICT if the patient requires additional care coordination to ensure loops are closed.
• Receives, reviews and facilitate clinician signature for DME orders initiated by providers outside GLFHC.
• Collaborates with the clinical team and other internal stakeholders to problem solve for non-reimbursable equipment needs, including leveraging GLFHC Access to Care funds and or other available funds to meet patient’s needs.
• Educates the GLFHC clinical team on DME and other medical supplies coverage guidelines.
• Collaborates with HIM to ensure all documentation is received and process timely for clinician signature.
• Maintains data base and implements tracking systems to ensure DME and medical supplies requests are not lost to follow-up.
• Performs any and all other duties as assigned.

Job Credentials:

• High school graduate or GED required
• Associates degree highly desirable
• Bilingual in English and Spanish required

Experience:

• Minimum 3 years of prior experience in DME or similar service coordination role
• Working knowledge of coverage guidelines and reimbursement models for supplies and DME, or similar services
• Ability to be self-directed, organized and practice independently, (within scope of responsibility) while recognizing need for escalation
• Working knowledge of databases, using excel, running reports, etc.
• Ability to manage multiple competing priorities and prioritize work accordingly
• Excellent customer service skills, including utilizing de-escalation and service recovery strategies
• Ability to work in a fast paced environment
• Exposure to working with complex populations with high community needs