Ventilation Management: Embrace Your Inner Expert

Published in Member Communities on November 03, 2026

Featuring Boone Lockard, VP of HME, Respiratory, and Wellness, VGM

The new ventilation NCD is redefining provider expectations and creating new opportunities for organizations to demonstrate clinical expertise, strengthen referral partnerships, and improve patient outcomes. 

Boone Lockard, VP of HME, Respiratory, and Wellness at VGM, shared in a recent HME News Smart Talk column how providers who embrace their role as trusted clinical partners can strengthen referral relationships, demonstrate greater value within the care continuum, and support long-term therapy success. 

Key takeaway: Develop efficient processes, leverage available reimbursement and compliance resources, and strengthen communication with referral partners as your role in patient care and ventilation management grows.   

Read the original HME News "Smart Talk" here or continue reading below.  

Ventilation: Embrace Your Inner Expert  

This article was written by Boone Lockard, VP of HME, Respiratory, and Wellness, VGM, originally published by HME News.     

With the new ventilation NCD placing greater emphasis on clinical involvement, how should providers think about reimbursement and their relationships with referral sources moving forward? 

A. The new NCD is changing more than reimbursement requirements. It's changing how providers are viewed within the patient care continuum. 

Historically, some referral sources may have viewed the provider's role as largely transactional: delivering equipment, providing setup, and managing fulfillment. Today, providers are increasingly expected to serve as active clinical partners who support documentation, monitor adherence, identify issues that may impact therapy success, and help ensure patients receive appropriate care. 

As providers become more involved in the clinical journey, physicians and referral sources may begin looking at provider relationships differently. The conversation is becoming less about equipment delivery and more about how providers contribute to patient outcomes, care coordination, and long-term therapy success. 

That shift creates both opportunities and challenges. Providers must navigate policy gaps and reimbursement gray areas where guidance may not always be black and white. At the same time, evolving compliance requirements often require additional staff resources, documentation oversight, patient follow-up, and clinical collaboration. 

The key is to recognize that the increased workload and accountability are a reflection of the provider's growing role in patient care. Organizations that develop efficient processes, leverage available reimbursement and compliance resources, and strengthen communication with referral partners will be better positioned to demonstrate their value. 

Ultimately, the providers who succeed in this environment will be those who embrace their role as a trusted extension of the care team, not simply a supplier. When referral sources see that commitment to supporting both compliance and patient outcomes, the relationship becomes stronger and more strategic for everyone involved. 

Boone Lockard is VP of HME, Respiratory, and Wellness at VGM. Reach him at Boone.Lockard@vgm.com. 

TAGS

1. respiratory
2. sleep