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The key to TEAM success in HME: Is your tech stack ready? (part 3)
On January 1, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will officially launch the Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM). This mandatory bundled payment model will shift how hospitals manage post-acute care and who they choose to partner with.
Success under the CMS TEAM model means delivering high-quality care at a lower cost, minimizing avoidable hospitalizations, and collaborating closely with hospital partners. But it also means having the right technology to make that possible.
In part three of this blog series, we break down what HMEs need to know about the TEAM model, how it impacts referrals, and how your tech stack can make or break your ability to thrive in this new era.
What is the TEAM model?
TEAM is CMS’s newest episode-based value model. It holds participating hospitals accountable for both cost and quality of care from admission through 30 days post-discharge (including all post-acute services and care at home) for five major surgical procedures. The surgical procedures are:
- Lower extremity joint replacement (LEJR)
- Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG)
- Major bowel surgery (MBP)
- Surgical hip/femur fracture treatment (SHFFT)
- Spinal fusion (SF)
What makes TEAM different is that hospitals are financially responsible for the full episode cost. That makes your hospital referral sources fully accountable for what happens after discharge.
Hospitals will look for HME specialists who can help them succeed under these new rules. They’ll prioritize HMEs that consistently deliver better outcomes at a lower cost, collaborate effectively, and make data-driven decisions.
This is where many HME providers fall behind.
While some already focus on quality and coordination, most aren’t prepared to manage TEAM patients or demonstrate their value with HME data. Even fewer have the digital healthcare solutions needed to track performance or share insights with hospitals in real time.
Your technology stack matters more than ever
To succeed in the TEAM model, you’ll need more than clinical expertise and good intentions. You’ll need a smart, connected tech stack that supports key capabilities like:
- Identifying TEAM patients at admission
- Managing real-time data exchange with hospital systems
- Predicting and preventing avoidable readmissions
- Tracking various episode performance
- Communicating with care teams across settings
Technology can enable all of this. It can help you reduce risk, spot trends, coordinate care, and show your value to hospital partners.
Without the right digital tools, even the most experienced teams will struggle to meet TEAM expectations.
6 tech-powered strategies for TEAM prep
Preparing for TEAM doesn’t have to be a struggle. In fact, HMEs can use healthcare information technology to prep for TEAM and stand out as a preferred partner. Here are a few tech-powered strategies to help you get there:
1. Identify TEAM patients right at the start
Success begins at admission. Your tech stack should flag TEAM patients the moment they arrive. Billing-system-agnostic care management workflows that integrate with hospital systems make this possible. These workflows help you streamline onboarding, align with hospital expectations, and ensure every TEAM patient gets the right level of attention from day one.
If your current system can’t identify TEAM patients and tailor care plans accordingly, it’s time to reevaluate your technology capabilities
2. Use predictive analytics to reduce risk
TEAM rewards HMEs that keep patients out of the hospital. To do that, you need to predict which patients are most likely to be readmitted and why.
AI-driven financial analytics can help. These tools support risk adjustment, predictive modeling, and reimbursement optimization. You can identify high-risk patients, monitor trends, and allocate resources more strategically.
For example, if a patient is flagged as high risk for readmission, your team can intervene early, adjust protocols, and monitor more closely. These small changes drive major cost savings.
3. Lean on data to find performance gaps
To thrive under the TEAM model, you need a clear picture of how you’re doing clinically and financially.
Your analytics platform should help you:
- Understand historical costs and patient outcomes
- Benchmark against peers and payor expectations
- Slice data by episode type to compare performance of each
- Pinpoint underperforming areas and their root causes
4. Standardize care across your team
Consistency is key in bundled payment models like TEAM. HMEs should use their tech stack to support standardized, evidence-based clinical protocols across all shifts and staff roles.
This is where digital workflows shine. They help ensure every patient with a specific condition (like COPD, stroke, or joint replacement) receives the same high-quality, protocol-driven care, regardless of who’s on duty.
Standardization helps eliminate waste, reduce variation, and improve outcomes. It also shows hospital partners you take quality seriously.
5. Improve care coordination across settings
Effective care coordination is essential to reducing costs and improving outcomes.
Use your tech stack to:
- Build shared care pathways with hospitals and post-acute partners
- Automate patient outreach during care transitions
- Facilitate communication between nurses, social workers, physicians, and case managers
Care coordination tools ensure no patient falls through the cracks. They also keep everyone informed and accountable, two critical ingredients for TEAM success.
6. Track and improve over time
Don’t just make changes. Measure whether they’re working. Your system should give you real-time dashboards to:
- Monitor cost trends and utilization
- Track quality metrics and compare performance against benchmarks
- Rank improvement opportunities by ROI
Let’s say you implemented a new protocol to reduce hospitalizations. Your dashboard should show whether readmissions are going down, costs are improving, and outcomes are trending up.
If they’re not? Adjust and try again.
That’s the power of a connected, intelligent technology stack. It helps you adapt, improve, and stay competitive.
Becoming a TEAM-ready HME Provider
HMEs can’t afford to sit back and wait. TEAM is coming fast, and referrals will shift to providers who are ready.
Technology isn’t a “nice to have” anymore. It’s the foundation of modern care and your ticket to becoming a preferred partner under TEAM.
Regardless of size, the message is the same. Invest in your tech stack now. Adopt digital healthcare solutions that help you track outcomes, reduce costs, and collaborate in real time.
Becoming a strong TEAM collaborator means being proactive, data-driven, and connected. Hospitals want partners they can trust to deliver results. Show them you’re ready.
How we’re helping HMEs get ready for TEAM
At Brightree, we understand what success looks like under the TEAM model. Our solutions are designed to help providers strengthen care coordination, streamline workflows, harness predictive analytics, and demonstrate value to hospital partners.
We’re working with organizations to help ensure their technology stack supports key TEAM priorities, so they’re not scrambling when January 1st arrives. Because when it comes to value-based care, you can’t afford to be reactive.
Let’s get your HME ready for TEAM and the future of accountable post-acute care.
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Jim Chiakulas
Jim is an experienced healthcare leader with deep expertise in value-based care and population health. He has worked across a range of market segments, giving him a comprehensive understanding of the healthcare landscape.
At Resmed, Jim focuses on building and nurturing payor and strategic partner relationships. He identifies opportunities to guide customers through the complexities of payor and payor-intermediary landscapes while demonstrating the value our providers and partners consistently deliver to payors and stakeholders across all business verticals.
Brightree provide solutions to post-acute care providers (HME, DME & pharmacy home infusion).
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