Home Health & Hospice Week

Though much remains murky about the interim final rule for power mobility, suppliers now have some firm answers to the question of what constitutes a legitimate prescription.
 
At the Sept. 13 special Open Door Forum on the rule, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said though the prescription does not have to be on any sort of standard form, it does have to contain the following elements:
 
1. The beneficiary's name;
 
2. The date of the face-to-face exam;
 
3.  The diagnosis that the device is expected to modify;
 
4. A description of the item;
 
5. The length of need;
 
6. The physician's signature; and
 
7. The date the prescription was written.
 
CMS officials cautioned suppliers against providing pre-printed forms to physicians, because such forms would raise kickback concerns. But collaborating on a form would be OK, they said.