Kilgore’s Respiratory Center is a durable medical equipment (DME) provider servicing thousands of patients annually. Based in Missouri, Kilgore’s specializes in respiratory care, providing equipment, education, and therapy to help patients manage chronic breathing conditions at home.

In recent years, Kilgore’s found themselves experiencing a rapid increase in volume, resulting in severe intake backlogs of up to two weeks. These delays strained relationships with referring providers and placed pressure on staff during an already challenging period marked by the pandemic and widespread product recalls.

It became clear that their manual processes could no longer scale. That's when Kilgore’s began searching for a solution that could keep patients moving, remove backlogs, and grow their business without increasing overhead.

The Challenge

An Intake Solution That Failed to Deliver

To achieve their goals, Kilgore’s had initially partnered with an AI intake platform, selected primarily because of its relatively low cost in the market. The solution was pitched as a ready-to-deploy tool, promising to automate key intake tasks and help them process patients faster.

But once implementation began, it quickly became clear the platform wasn’t ready for production. Instead of solving the problems they needed addressed, Kilgore’s team found themselves repeatedly being asked to adjust their workflows to fit the platform’s limitations. They continued to encounter technical gaps that prevented the system from functioning reliably in their day-to-day operations.

After months of effort and thousands of dollars invested, Kilgore’s still didn’t have a working solution. Eventually, they reached a crossroads: outsource the work or take a chance on a different solution. Ultimately, they chose the latter–but this time with a different approach.

They needed more than a promising idea–they needed a solution that not only worked with their existing workflows, but improved them, helping their team refocus on what mattered most: their patients. After thorough evaluation, Kilgore’s determined that Tennr was up to the task.

Life with Tennr:

Faster Intake, Greater Capacity, and Real Operational Relief

The impact of Tennr was quickly felt across day-to-day operations. As Meagan puts it, “Getting started was easy. We felt like we could finally breathe.”

Since going live with Tennr, Kilgore’s Respiratory has achieved:

• An all-time high in task volume, increasing processing by 2.4x without adding staff
• Generated 3.6x growth in new patients
• A 5.5x increase in created orders month over month
• A 41% reduction in printing, with monthly print volume decreasing from ~24K pages to ~14K pages

Tennr’s streamlined workflows translated directly into financial savings, allowing Kilgore’s to significantly reduce manual, paper-based processes and remove their overtime policy.

The improvements were felt by patients as well. With less time spent on manual workflows, the team had more time to focus on the patients standing in front of them.

Looking Ahead:

Positioned for the Future with Tennr

For Meagan and her team, their strong working relationship with the Tennr team was an unexpected, added bonus. From hands-on training to ongoing support, Kilgore’s feels supported by a true partner invested in their success.

Today, Kilgore’s Respiratory is operating faster, more efficiently, and with greater capacity to serve the patients who depend on them.