Health Information Compliance Alert

IN OTHER NEWS… Stamped physician signatures won't work

.Stamped physician signatures won't work on durable medical equipment forms.

In 2006 CMS announced a ban on stamped physician signatures for hospice forms, then last year said stamped signatures were out for home health forms. Now it's clarifying that stamped signatures and stamped dates won't work for DME forms, according to Dec. 31, 2007 CR 6261 (Transmittal No. 281).

"Signature and date stamps are not acceptable for use on CMNs (certificates of medical necessity) and DIFs (DME MAC information forms)," CMS says in the transmittal.

"Your Medicare contractors will accept only hand written, facsimiles of original written and electronic signatures and dates on medical record documentation for medical review purposes on CMNs and DIFs," CMS adds in a MLN Matters article on the subject.

The transmittal is at www.cms.hhs.gov/transmittals/downloads/R281PI.pdf. The MLN Matters article is at www.cms.hhs.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/MM6261.pdf.

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