Placing an order in the Connect portal

A step-by-step walkthrough of a new request in Connect, from signing in through submitting the standard written order, plus how to track and update the order afterward.

The Connect portal is the Synapse Health ordering portal for DME providers. It replaces multiple phone calls and faxes with one integrated electronic process, and it builds eligibility, benefit and coverage criteria into the order as you enter it. This article walks through a complete new request in the order the portal presents it, then covers the status, chat and best-practice features you use after an order is submitted.

It is written for DME provider staff who have already received their Connect Portal Welcome email and have an assigned username. If you do not have credentials yet, contact Synapse before working through these steps.

What the Connect portal does

Connect gives you a unified ordering experience that simplifies the ordering process and provides real-time visibility. Synapse describes the portal as one accountable party from ordering through delivery and payment, backed by a network focused on service and quality.

Synapse groups the benefits of the network into three areas.

Step 1: Sign in to Connect

Signing into your account leads to your landing page. From there you can start a new request, check status and update your account settings.

1. Enter your assigned ‘Username’: firstname.lastname.providername.connect
2. Enter your newly created ‘Password’
3. Click on ‘Sign In’
4. When prompted, click on ‘Email or Text’ to receive your ‘Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) code’, click on ‘Next’
5. Enter your ‘MFA Code’
6. Click on ‘Next’

The MFA prompt asks where you would like to receive your security code and offers your email address or your mobile device. If you need a new code, the security code screen has a ‘Click to resend code’ link.

Step 2: Select the prescriber and confirm the location

Start a new request from the ‘New Request’ item in the left-hand navigation. The left-hand navigation also holds Drafts, Tasks, Orders and My Profile.

Select ‘Find Physician’ to open the NPI Search window. You can search by NPI Number, First Name, Last Name, City or State, then select the prescriber from the results list. Search results show NPI, name, primary practice address, phone and primary taxonomy.

Once the prescriber is selected, confirm the Location shown beside the prescriber card and update it if applicable.

Step 3: Enter order details and the requested delivery or discharge date

The Order Details panel shows who created the request and their contact information. Enter the ‘Requested Delivery Date’, and answer the question ‘Is the patient discharging from a Hospital or Skilled Nursing Facility?’

• If you select ‘No’ you can move on to the next section
• If you select ‘Yes’ a ‘Discharge Date’ field appears for you to complete

The same screen asks whether you would like to add an emergency contact. If you select ‘No’ you can move on to the next section. If you select ‘Yes’ the Contact fields will appear, covering Relationship to Patient, First Name, Last Name, Phone and an optional Email Address.

A right-hand panel lists the sections of the request so you can move between them and save your progress.

Step 4: Enter insurance and check eligibility

In the Insurance / Eligibility section, set ‘Bill To’, then search for and select the ‘Payer’. Enter the Member ID, Last Name, First Name and Date of Birth.

Up to 3 plans can be entered. After the primary plan, the portal asks ‘Do you want to add a Secondary insurance?’ and ‘Do you want to add a Tertiary insurance?’

Eligibility is run once you click ‘Check Eligibility’, letting you know patient eligibility status in real-time. When the check succeeds the plan is marked ‘Added Successfully’ and the Primary Insurance Details panel shows the subscriber, patient relationship, plan type, payer, plan, member ID and effective status.

Step 5: Enter patient demographics and the delivery address

Complete the Patient section. Any field denoted with an asterisk must be filled in as a required field. The fields are Last Name, First Name, Middle Name, Gender, Primary Language, Date of Birth, SSN#, Home phone, Contact phone, Address, Address 2, Zip, City, State and Email Address.

Then confirm the patient delivery address and contact info in the ‘Deliver To’ section. Shortcuts at the top of that section let you ‘Copy Patient Address’ or ‘Copy Facility Address’ rather than retyping them.

Add any special instructions, gate code or hours in the delivery notes box. The guide shows two examples of what a useful delivery note looks like: ‘Split Delivery – E-tank to beside/Patient Lift to home’ and ‘Patient to be discharged 06/30/25. Deliver hospital bed prior to.’

Step 6: Search by product type and configure the items

In Product Selection, search by category to add product types to your order. The category list includes:

• Bathing and Toileting Items
• Beds and Support Surfaces
• Breast Pumps
• Compression Items
• Canes, Crutches and Walkers
• Diabetes
• Manual Wheelchair
• Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT)
• Nutrition
• Ostomy Supplies
• Patient Lifts
• Power Mobility Devices
• Replacement Items for Patient OWNED Products
• Respiratory
• Therapeutic and Pain Management Equipment
• Urological Supplies
• Wound Care and Surgical Dressings

Configure items as needed

Each product opens a Configuration step so you can customize the order to fit your patient’s needs, with simple, visual options to guide you. You set the Length of Need (LON), pick the specific product from the Product Selection dropdown, and select accessories such as foot and leg rests, safety equipment, back cushion and seat cushion.

Enter height and weight for equipment requiring specifications. When an item requires it, the portal displays the message ‘One of the products you’ve selected requires you to enter a height and weight’ along with Height and Weight fields and their permitted ranges.

Request a preferred DME provider or manufacturer

Use the ‘Product Request/Notes’ field to request your preferred DME provider or manufacturer to fulfill your order. The guide shows two ways this field is used: ‘Route to Vendor:’ followed by the vendor name, and ‘Brand Request:’ followed by the brand.

Step 7: Confirm quantity and frequency

Move to the Quantity and Frequency step to view and set the prescription. Review and confirm the selected items to ensure quantities are correct, then click ‘Next’.

Step 8: Select the diagnosis and confirm the codes qualify

In the Diagnosis step, enter the name of the diagnosis or the ICD-10 code in the ‘Add More Diagnosis Codes If Needed’ box and select from the matching results.

The blue check mark indicates the selected code or codes are valid and compliant with billing regulations. The portal also confirms this in text with the message ‘Diagnosis requirements for this item have been met.’

Step 9: Upload the standard written order and supporting documentation

In the Documents step, upload the standard written order (SWO) and include any supporting documentation. Select the paper clip to upload.

The ‘Add additional documents’ dropdown lets you label what you are attaching. Document types shown in the guide include Chest X-ray, Computed Tomography (CT) Scan, Continued Need, Face-to-Face Note, HIPAA Release form, History and Physical (H&P) and Insurance Verification.

When documentation is still outstanding, the item is marked ‘Documents Needed’. Select ‘Save to Order’ when the uploads are complete.

Step 10: Review the order and submit it

Review the order detail and submit for final review. The Q&A summary lists each item with its Length of Need (LON), HCPCS code, status, quantity and frequency, and any Product Request/Notes you entered. Validate the order detail and click ‘Next’.

Next, review the standard written order itself and validate the order details. Check the box to affirm order entry accuracy. The confirmation reads: ‘I hereby affirm to the best of my knowledge that the statements and selections made in regards to this patient’s health and medical need accurately represents what is documented in the patient’s medical record.’

When the order is sent for processing, the portal shows a ‘Done!’ screen confirming that your order has been sent to our Intake Department for processing, with a link to begin a new order.

Getting help while you are entering an order

Select ‘Need Help’ then select the appropriate subject. A live team member will assist promptly. The subjects offered in the Message Us panel are Submitting a New Order, Received a Validation Request Error, Modifying or Updating an Existing Order, Status Request for an Existing Order, New Access Request or Password Reset, and Other.

Saving an order as a draft

Use the ‘Save as Draft’ feature anytime you need to step away to save your order or orders. The button sits at the top right of the request. Saved drafts are available from the ‘Drafts’ item in the left-hand navigation.

How the portal flags missing required elements

The portal flags any area in the referral that is missing a required element. A red exclamation icon appears beside the affected section in the right-hand section list, and the individual field is outlined in red with a message such as ‘Gender is required’, ‘Name is required’ or ‘Contact Number is required’.

Checking the status of orders on the Connect dashboard

Select ‘Orders’ in the left-hand navigation to open the Prescriber Orders dashboard and check the status of your orders. Each row shows the request and submit date, patient, insured address, prescriber and signed date, insurance, the current status and the available actions.

Statuses shown in the guide include Awaiting Clinician Signature, Rejected, Pending Clinician Signature, Order Verification, Cancelled, Order Processing, Provider Pending and Cancelled by Referral. Where an action is available, the row offers a ‘Withdraw’ button and an edit icon.

Downloading a PDF of the standard written order

Users can access a PDF version of the SWO. Open the order, go to the ‘Clinical’ tab, and use the download icon beside each document. The Documents list holds the Order, Insurance and Face-To-Face files, each with the date it was added, and an ‘Add additional documents’ dropdown for anything still missing.

Requesting an update or a change to a submitted order

Request an update or add a change request note via the chat function associated with each order. Open the order from the Orders dashboard and use the Order Notes panel: select the Note Type, type your message, and select ‘Submit’. Notes are stamped with the author and date, so the thread stays with the order.

Questions about a submitted order