How SunMED Transformed Manual Order Processing Into Streamlined Automation

Client Profile

  • Client Name: SunMED Medical Solutions
  • Industry: Durable Medical Equipment (DME) and Home Medical Equipment (HME)
  • Location: United States
  • Client Background: SunMED Medical Solutions is a DME/HME provider serving thousands of referral sources across the healthcare industry. When Corey Crumley, Chief Operating Officer, joined SunMED 17 years ago, it was a much smaller company using paper files with just three product lines. Over the years, SunMED has gained many contracts and expanded their product offerings, adding and subtracting product lines based on industry changes. The company processes orders with varying turnaround requirements, including hospital discharge patients who need equipment within two hours.

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Introduction

SunMED Medical faced the operational challenges that many growing DME/HME providers encounter: manual processes that couldn't scale with increasing order volume and diverse documentation requirements. With referrals arriving from thousands of different sources, each with unique documentation formats, SunMED's teams spent significant time manually entering patient demographics and triaging incoming faxes. When company leadership, led by President Bill Lobosco, began exploring technology solutions to reduce human error and improve efficiency, they discovered Notable Systems' intelligent document processing capabilities.

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Challenge

Problem Statement

Prior to implementing Notable Systems, SunMED's order intake process was entirely manual and labor-intensive. Staff members had to review every incoming fax individually to determine document type and appropriate team assignment, then manually type patient information from fax documents into their billing system while comparing data across multiple screens.

This manual approach created significant operational bottlenecks and prevented the company from scaling efficiently. Personnel costs represented SunMED's biggest expense, with substantial staff time dedicated to repetitive, error-prone manual tasks that didn't add strategic value to the business.

  • Volume Bottlenecks: Manual review and data entry limited daily processing capacity and created delays in critical situations like hospital discharges requiring equipment within two hours
  • High Error Risk: Manual typing between screens introduced opportunities for data entry mistakes, including "fat finger" errors in critical information like dates of birth
  • Inefficient Document Routing: Every incoming fax required human review to determine document type and appropriate team assignment - "That took a lot of time."
  • Resource-Intensive Operations: Significant staff time spent on repetitive manual tasks rather than higher-value activities
  • Partner Communication Inefficiencies: One key partner requiring 20-25 referrals daily relied on time-consuming phone transfers that consumed considerable staff resources
  • Scalability Limitations: Business growth required adding more staff for manual processes rather than improving operational efficiency

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Personnel is our biggest expense and also our biggest asset. But personnel is not necessarily accurate at all times because humans make mistakes. So we are looking at how to help the humans to not make as many mistakes.Corey Crumley, Chief Operating Officer, SunMED Medical Solutions

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Our Solution

Notable Systems was discovered through SunMED leadership's ongoing search for technology solutions to improve operational efficiency. President Bill Lobosco had been actively researching automation tools to reduce human error and help staff focus on higher-value activities.

When asked how she would explain the product to a colleague, Corey Crumley describes Notable Systems’ solution as "someone summarizing everything that's in the document for you into a concise one-page summary and pulling out the most important things that you want."

Objectives:

  • Eliminate manual data entry from fax documents to patient billing systems
  • Automate document type recognition and team assignment routing
  • Improve accuracy by reducing human error in demographic data entry
  • Accelerate processing times for time-sensitive hospital discharge orders
  • Create scalable intake processes that don't require proportional staffing increases

Implementation Approach:

SunMED chose a collaborative, integration-focused implementation strategy. Rather than implementing Notable Systems as a standalone solution, the process involved close coordination between SunMED's operations team, their IT resources, and Notable Systems to ensure seamless workflow integration.

Phase 1: Internal Planning and Integration Design

  • Management team assessment of how Notable Systems would fit into existing process flows
  • IT team collaboration to design seamless data integration with existing patient billing systems
  • Comprehensive cost-benefit analysis comparing savings versus expenditure

Phase 2: System Integration and Testing

  • Development of automated routing system based on document type recognition
  • Integration setup allowing direct import of Notable-processed data into patient billing system
  • Testing and refinement of automated workflows with Notable Systems' support team

Phase 3: Full Implementation and Process Optimization

  • Staff training on new automated processes with ongoing Notable Systems support
  • Continuous optimization based on performance metrics and user feedback
  • Expansion to additional document types and partner integrations

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Everybody that we have worked with at Notable has been very responsive. Our primary programmer who's worked on all of this has said how easy it is to work with everybody. Corey Crumley, Chief Operating Officer, SunMED Medical Solutions

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Results

SunMED has achieved significant operational improvements since implementing Notable Systems:

Operational Improvements:

  • Automated Document Processing: Over one-third of incoming documents now bypass manual review entirely, with Notable Systems automatically identifying document types and routing to appropriate teams
  • Eliminated Manual Data Entry: Staff can now click a single button to import complete patient demographics directly into their billing system, eliminating dual-screen typing and associated errors
  • Accelerated Critical Processing: Hospital discharge orders requiring two-hour turnaround times now reach appropriate teams faster through automated routing, eliminating receptionist triage delays
  • Reduced Error Rates: "Fat finger" errors in critical data like dates of birth have been significantly reduced through automated data extraction and import
  • Enhanced Partner Efficiency: One major partner transitioned from time-consuming phone transfers to email-based referrals processed through Notable Systems, enabling pre-populated patient information for faster customer service calls

Process Improvements:

  • Streamlined Document Management: Processed documents include Notable Systems’ summary with hyperlinked references to specific information locations, supporting audit requirements and denial management
  • Improved Staff Productivity: Team members can focus on higher-value activities rather than repetitive data entry tasks
  • Better Customer Service: Representatives can call patients with complete order information already loaded in the system, eliminating the need to collect basic demographic information during calls
  • Scalable Growth Foundation: The automated system supports increased volume without proportional staff increases

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The speed and the accuracy of the data that's being imported into our patient system... it removes the human element of making those kinds of mistakes, which is fantastic.Corey Crumley, Chief Operating Officer, SunMED Medical Solutions

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The success stemmed from several key factors. Notable Systems' collaborative implementation approach worked particularly well, and the strong vendor relationship with responsive support proved essential for seamless adoption, while the strategic system integration became a standout contributor to operational success.

Implementation Success Factors:

  • Seamless System Integration: Notable Systems worked closely with SunMED's operations team and IT resources to design seamless integration with existing workflows and infrastructure
  • Comprehensive Support and Training: Notable Systems provided comprehensive training and continuous support throughout implementation, enabling smooth transition from manual to automated workflows
  • Flexible Document Recognition: Notable Systems’ advanced document recognition capabilities easily adapted to SunMED's diverse document formats from thousands of referral sources, with responsive support for new document types
  • Strong Customer Focus: Notable Systems' understanding of DME/HME provider needs and commitment to ongoing optimization

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I've probably sent an email about a new document type dozens of times, and every time, the response is 'great, we'll get it programmed.' That flexibility has been very helpful – not expecting us to fit into the same repetitive box every time, because we just don't.Corey Crumley, Chief Operating Officer, SunMED Medical Solutions

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Key Success Drivers:

  • Collaborative Implementation Strategy: Notable Systems’ collaborative approach ensured seamless workflow integration with SunMED's existing systems
  • Advanced Technology Support: Notable Systems' responsive support and flexible capabilities enabled continuous optimization and expansion
  • Industry Expertise: Notable Systems’ understanding of DME/HME provider needs and diverse documentation requirements

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Part of why we feel very comfortable [relying on your product] is if there is a new document type, we notify you and we get a quick turnaround.Corey Crumley, Chief Operating Officer, SunMED Medical Solutions

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