Complete Story
02/12/2010
Medicare – What you Need to Know
In recent months, Palmetto GBA has seen an escalating number of errors assessed by the Comprehensive Error Rate Testing (CERT) Review due to signature problems with practitioners' medical records, x-ray reports and laboratory/radiology orders. The discovery of CERT errors may lead to increased scrutiny of future services billed to Medicare by chiropractic physicians. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has published requirements that a legible, valid signature (identifier) must be present on all substantiating documentation for claims billed to Medicare.
In almost every instance, services were denied due to one of four "not acceptable" signature reasons:
- Illegible, unrecognizable handwritten signatures or initials
- Unsigned "typewritten" progress notes with a typed name only
- Unverified or unauthorized electronic signatures
- No indication of the rendering physician/practitioner
We know this current challenge is fixable and once achieved will prevent the delay in payments caused from claims being denied because documentation is not present to support payment. Important elements to remember:
- Be sure a handwritten signature is a mark or sign by an individual on a document to signify knowledge, approval acceptance or obligation.
- Records should clearly indicate they have been "electronically signed by" and include a date/time. Palmetto strongly suggest adding verbiage to this effect for clarification and establishing a protocol to ensure valid signatures are affixed to every order, record, or report within a reasonable time frame, i.e., customarily 48-72 hours after the encounter - but certainly before the claim is submitted to Medicare for payment consideration.
If you have questions or to review the guidelines, please visit www.Palmettogba.com/boh.