Why the Future of HME Operations Will Be Built on Automation and Intelligence
HME intake is like playing dominoes: it’s all in the setup. Line up the dominoes correctly and watch them flow in unison. Miss one part of the setup and nothing works.
“With manual HME intake, you might have just one person handling intake, but that one person might have 17 different things they have to acquire or ensure as part of the intake process,” says Jennifer Leon, Head of Patient Collections for HME business management solutions provider Brightree. “And if one thing is wrong in that intake process, it’s going to impact the other 16 steps along the way.”
To reduce human error, improve outcomes and grow at scale, providers are increasingly turning to systems with artificial intelligence. AI can help teams do work with greater speed and predictability without sacrificing accuracy, allowing staff members to then spend more of their time on tasks that can’t be automated. Here are three keys to why the future of HME operations will be built on automation and intelligence.
Key #1: Automating the Transaction Flow
Managing today’s workforce and preventing human error
When a provider lacks an automated system for managing its transactions, the loss of any one human worker — even for a day or two — can prove costly. Everyone wants to lean on their top workers, but no one wants to be completely dependent on them. When providers lose these workers, they lose that institutional knowledge, or what Noel Tauzin of Brightree calls “tribal knowledge.”
“Manual processes require someone to have knowledge of these areas that are constantly changing,” says Tauzin, Head of Revenue Cycle Management at Brightree. “That person’s out, someone else steps in, things get missed.”
Automating the transaction flow is ultimately about protecting the business from workforce instability — whether turnover, retirements or routine absences like vacation or illness. When critical processes rely on individual knowledge, gaps quickly appear, especially across manual workflows such as intake, documentation, authorization and billing.
“When you think of things like missing documentation and incorrect patient data, those all delay the processing,” Tauzin says. “At the end of the day, that’s going to lead to a poor patient experience: longer wait times, repeated follow-ups on claims and higher denials.”
Bringing AI into the mix is a hedge against human error on a case-by-case basis, but more broadly a buttress against human error systematically. In doing so, providers can free up their staff in hopes of accelerating time to therapy and reducing denial risk. From delivery optimization to patient engagement and resupply management, AI is helping HMEs create more connected, efficient and patient-centered experiences.
Key #2: Building Digital Patient Engagement and Resupply
Meeting patients where they are in a shifting communication landscape
When a staff member faces burnout, that’s bad. But when a patient gives up on a provider completely, that’s far worse. Providers are working to avoid the pitfalls of workforce management, but AI is perhaps even more important for the impact it can have on patients.
In 2026 and beyond, the concept of patient-centered care runs through systems with artificial intelligence. Providers are using automated systems to drive better patient engagement and better overall patient experiences
One key example: AI-driven route and fleet optimization. This is often an overlooked part of the whole process — actually getting equipment to the patient’s door. This is one of the areas where the industry often gets criticized: when patients wait too long for equipment, or don’t receive the right communication. Automation changes that patient experience.
In addition to mobile delivery optimization, AI is also transforming how HMEs connect and communicate with patients. Intelligent technology can inform on when and how patients prefer to engage, increasing response rates and helping close communication gaps.
“Different patients respond better to different channels of communication, and this gives us the ability to modulate the channels seamlessly,” says Allen Hunt, President of Hart Medical Equipment, a Brightree customer that services an average of over 65,000 patients per month, with over 9,500 CPAP supply orders processed monthly. “We’re not having to decide how to best reach patients. So we’re loweing our activity cost while improving our targeted response.”
“If we’re reaching out to a customer, it’s important to know everything they’re eligible for over a 90-day period, and then be proactive about reaching out,” says Mike Lorenz, VP of ReSupply at Brightree.
Key #3: Modernizing the Operating Platform
Leveraging AI to align with evolving payers and regulations
Staff members remain concerned about the impact that AI might have on their jobs. But to many health care thought leaders, it’s not a question of man vs. machine. It’s a question of man and machine vs. man.
In other words, workers concerned that AI will take their job might be missing the point.
“Whenever I hear, ‘AI is going to take all the jobs,’ I think the better perspective is that AI is going to 10x the resources you have so they can provide a relevant experience to each one of these scenarios,” says Jaimi Panini, Brightree Vice President of Product. “That’s what’s most exciting about it.”
Leading HME organizations are consolidating fragmented tools into a single business management platform that connects clinical workflows, revenue cycle operations, supply chain and patient engagement. This modernization of the operating platform is a boon to staff, patients and the bottom line, and helps drive away many of the errors that hold these businesses back.
That’s especially true with audits.
“When you think about the data that’s flowing in for an order and that’s required for the audit, it varies by product line and by payer,” Tauzin says. “In this way, utilizing automation means you add a layer of standardization into your documentation process.”
Operators that use AI for their audit trails, for instance, have access to so much more data, and more specific data.
“If a surveyor goes to the office, they don’t have to go back and check the actual file to be able to see the information, which takes a lot of time,” says Karen Alba, Co-Founder, Pediatric Respiratory Care of South Florida (J Care). “By having , you have everything in there.”
The ones with AI will meet compliance head on. They also have a leg up for payer requirements.
“If the payer tables are set up wrong because you had a manual process in setup and you had somebody going in there and changing that, then the order going out the door or the claim going out the door is not going to be right from the beginning,” Leon says. “So it’s extremely imperative to providers to have some automation and intelligence behind the payer requirements built in within that automated workflow.”
An automated workflow, new paths to patient engagement and a modern operating platform. The provider who meets those goals won’t just reach the future. They’ll shape it.
This article is sponsored by Brightree, whose core platform supports the full lifecycle of HME/DME operations, enabling providers to run complex, revenue-critical workflows with greater consistency and confidence. Built on workflows already proven in real-world HME environments, the platform continues to evolve to help teams work smarter as operational demands change.
Brightree enables seamless data sharing across referral sources, manufacturers, patients and health care systems, supporting an interoperability-first approach. From intake through billing and resupply, teams can manage reimbursement, reduce variability and stay compliant through workflow-native automation that minimizes manual effort and reduces errors. The result is more predictable operations, stronger financial performance, and better experiences for both patients and staff. To learn more, visit www.brightree.com.
