# Follow every DME order until the patient has the equipment > Each order is a Task with a follow-up date set at submission, so a stall surfaces early and it closes only on confirmed delivery. Markdown view of https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks/dme-order-tracking — the HTML page is canonical. [](https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks) 1. [Playbooks](https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks) 2. [Patient Follow-Up](https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks#patient-follow-up) Each order is a Task with a follow-up date set at submission, so a stall surfaces early and it closes only on confirmed delivery. - Elation - Tabflows - Saves about 10 min per order (est.) Last checked Oct 27, 2026 against Tabflows v3.10.63 ## The situation Durable medical equipment, such as wheelchairs, walkers, CPAP machines and oxygen equipment, is not delivered when the order is faxed. Tracking follows each order from prescription through supplier processing to confirmed delivery. A DME order is not done when you submit it. It is done when the patient has the wheelchair, walker or CPAP in hand and knows how to use it. In between sits work your clinic does not control: supplier processing, documentation requirements and sometimes a prior authorization. Once the order leaves, nothing tells you it is stuck. The supplier usually will not call to say documentation is missing, and the patient may assume the wait is normal. The first anyone hears is often the patient calling, frustrated, weeks after they expected delivery. ## Steps 1. **Log the order when you submit it** Create a Task from the patient page. In Description, write the equipment, the supplier, the date sent and what documentation went with it. 2. **Set the first follow-up now** Set Due on one to two weeks out and assign the order to the one person who follows up with suppliers. If the supplier has not confirmed receipt and next steps by then, that person calls. 3. **Turn a documentation request around fast** When the supplier flags missing medical necessity information or other documentation, add a checklist item for exactly what is missing and type @ and the name of the teammate who can supply it. Select Mark as urgent and set Due on to today, so it shows in My Tasks now. 4. **Say what the order is waiting on** Set the status to Waiting and note in Comments whether it is held up by a prior authorization or sitting in the supplier's normal queue. Each needs a different follow-up, so keep them distinct. 5. **Close it when the patient has the equipment** Add checklist items for delivered and for the patient trained on its use. Mark the Task Done only when both are checked, not when the order went to the supplier. ## The outcome Every order has an owner and a follow-up date from the day it is submitted, so a stalled one shows up on your list before the patient has to call asking where their equipment is. DME stops being the order type patients have to chase down themselves. ## Ask Sidekick Sidekick is the AI assistant inside Tabflows. Hey Tabflows, create a DME order task for this patient with the equipment and the supplier, assigned to me and due in a week, with a checklist for prescription sent, documentation complete, shipped and delivery confirmed. ## In the Product Library - [How to create a follow-up reminder task](https://www.tabflows.com/university/library/tasks/how-to-create-a-follow-up-reminder-task) - [Break larger tasks into subtasks](https://www.tabflows.com/university/library/tasks/break-larger-tasks-into-subtasks) - [How to use urgent tasks](https://www.tabflows.com/university/library/tasks/how-to-use-urgent-tasks) - [How to update, complete, reopen, or delete tasks](https://www.tabflows.com/university/library/tasks/how-to-update-complete-reopen-or-delete-tasks) - [Using Elation with Tabflows](https://www.tabflows.com/university/library/integrations/using-elation-with-tabflows) [Read the full guide](https://www.tabflows.com/blog/dme-order-tracking-workflow) [Open it in the Automation catalog](https://www.tabflows.com/university/automations?automation=dme-order-tracking) ## Related markdown Section index: [Playbooks](https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks.md) Alongside this page: - [Advance directive tracking](https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks/advance-directive-tracking.md) - [After hours answering service](https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks/after-hours-answering-service.md) - [After hours message triage](https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks/after-hours-message-triage.md) - [Billing decline follow up](https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks/billing-decline-follow-up.md) - [Call follow up loop](https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks/call-follow-up-loop.md) - [Chronic care check ins](https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks/chronic-care-check-ins.md) - [Clia and compliance renewals](https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks/clia-and-compliance-renewals.md) - [Dea and license renewals](https://www.tabflows.com/university/playbooks/dea-and-license-renewals.md) Start here: - [Tabflows](https://www.tabflows.com/index.md) - [Tabflows pricing](https://www.tabflows.com/pricing.md) - [Tabflows FAQ](https://www.tabflows.com/faqs.md) - [About Tabflows](https://www.tabflows.com/about.md) - [Contact Tabflows](https://www.tabflows.com/contact.md) - [DPC workflow software](https://www.tabflows.com/dpc-workflow-software.md) - [Directory](https://www.tabflows.com/directory.md) - [Workflows](https://www.tabflows.com/workflows.md) - [DPC finder](https://www.tabflows.com/dpc-finder.md) Every page listed in sitemap.xml has a markdown twin at the same URL with `.md` appended, or by sending `Accept: text/markdown` to the canonical URL. Wider index: [llms.txt](https://www.tabflows.com/llms.txt), [llms-full.txt](https://www.tabflows.com/llms-full.txt), [sitemap.md](https://www.tabflows.com/sitemap.md), [sitemap.xml](https://www.tabflows.com/sitemap.xml). Support documentation: https://www.tabflows.com/university/library — append `.md` to any article URL for its raw markdown.