The Incontinence Supply Order Looks Simple. Compare the Size, the Reorder Route, and the Return Rule Before the First Box Runs Out

The first box of supplies usually arrives after the hospital has stopped thinking about it. That is when the trouble starts. The order is only as good as the size on it, the schedule behind it, and the rule for changing it.

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Day 0: still in the bed

Ask the nurse or the discharge team which products your parent used in the hospital and what size they used. Write the size and the product name exactly as the hospital labeled them. Do not guess the size from a package on the shelf.

Ask for the size to be written on the discharge paperwork, not only said aloud. If the paper gives a range, copy the range. If the team cannot tell you the size, say so out loud and ask who can.

Day 1: the car pulls in

Before you leave the lot, decide who will place the order and who will receive the box. Write one name beside each. A supply line with no owner is the one that runs out first.

Ask the discharge team whether they can send the order from their side, or whether the family must place it. Then compare any supplier you are considering on six points:

1. Does the supplier accept the size on the paper, or do they ask for a different one?

2. Do they need a written order from the doctor, and who collects it?

3. Do they ship on a standing schedule, or does someone have to reorder each time?

4. Can a different product be substituted, and who must approve the change?

5. If the size is wrong, what is the exchange or return rule, and how long does it take?

6. Who pays, and does the supplier put that answer in writing?

Coverage rules are the part most often assumed. Medicare publishes its own rules for these supplies on Medicare.gov, and most products fall outside them. Read the supplier's written answer, then check it against the official rule yourself. Do not rely on the answer given on the phone.

Day 2 to Day 3: the first full days

Open the first box on the day it arrives. Check the size printed on the package against the size on the discharge paper. If they do not match, call that day. Do not wait for the next box to fix it.

Count what is in the box and write the count on the calendar. Count forward to the day the next box is due. If the gap is short, call the supplier now, while the phone line is still easy to reach.

Ask your parent which product is easiest to put on and take off. Their answer counts for more than a catalog's description. If the product that fits the paper is not the one your parent can manage, go back to the discharge team with both answers.

Day 3 to Day 7: the week

Name the reorder owner and a backup. The backup should know the supplier's phone number, the account number, the size, and the reorder day. Nobody should have to search the mail or the bedroom for those details.

Ask the supplier to send the order confirmation and the reorder schedule to a shared address that more than one person can read. Keep a paper copy in the same folder as the discharge papers.

If the supplier cannot answer the six points in writing by the end of the week, treat that as the answer. Look for another supplier before the next box is due. For the wider list of questions to ask in this first week, see Day 0 to Day 14 After Discharge, and for the sources behind the coverage rules, see Sources.