The Parachute Health Blog

You’ve just pulled up to a clinic and checked your phone before you head inside.

There’s a voicemail from a referral coordinator about a “rush” hospital bed. An email with an attachment labeled “Order???” A Slack message from intake asking if you can help track down chart notes for a mobility device. And somewhere in the stack, a notification about a fax: slightly skewed, signature faint, diagnosis code cut off at the edge of the page.

You haven’t even made your first visit, and already you’re piecing together a story. Because that’s what much of DME sales has become: detective work.

“The 1980s called, and they want their fax machines back,” said CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. “The futuristic medical breakthroughs we’ve achieved, like augmented reality glasses that give surgeons X-ray vision, shouldn’t have to coexist with administrative systems that often lag decades behind.”

On March 20, 2026, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued afinal rule that puts an expiration date on snail mail and faxing for healthcare claims. This move is designed to slash wasteful spending and antiquated paperwork by replacing it with electronic transactions.

The fax machine is humming again. A new order just came through—pages slightly skewed, some text cut off, clinician signature faint but maybe usable. Your intake team does what they always do: Open the fax, scan for patient info, try to decipher what equipment is being ordered, and figure out whether this is something you can even act on today.

You know that moment when you realize things don’t have to be as complicated as they’ve always been?

Ever read another LinkedIn post about how AI is transforming work and think:

The rise of home-based treatment has transformed U.S. healthcare, enabling millions of patients to manage chronic conditions with fewer lifestyle restrictions and logistical challenges.¹ But none of that would be possible without home medical equipment (HME)—the range of innovative products that support patients in their home environment.

Outdated HME ordering systems could be costing you $40 per order—and the right technology can help you reclaim it. From inefficient manual processing to lost orders, fax-based orders may be the leading cause of revenue leakage for HME providers.

Digitization is the future of DME ordering—but how should clinicians and HME providers adapt? Recent Senate efforts suggest ePrescribing could become mandatory in the coming years,¹ while long-standing frustrations with fax-based orders have already driven a shift toward digital-first orders.

Patients with chronic conditions often rely on durable medical equipment (DME), but outdated ordering processes are letting them down. Fax-based orders and manual order processing systems leave many waiting in uncertainty for their equipment; one study found that over 54.4% of hospital case workers “always” or “often” had issues accessing basic DME items for Medicare beneficiaries.¹

Over 2.5 million Americans rely on durable medical equipment (DME) to give them dignity and autonomy while suffering from a range of chronic, often debilitating conditions.¹ But navigating DME ordering, coverage, and delivery remains complex for patients and providers alike.