Pulmonology Coding Alert

Careful: CMS recognizes electronic and handwritten signatures under certain criteria.If you don't want to trigger audits and other compliance headaches, make sure you fulfill your physician signature requirements. Make it a habit to get your provider to sign your patient's charts. It's a prerequisite that calls for your relentless compliance.Your physician's signature serves as a legible identifier for the provided/ordered services. If the signature is not present in the documentation that comes with your claim, you could likely subject your claim to unnecessary audits. Debunk these two myths on provider's signature, and discover what other identifiers would do with electronic medical records (EMRs).Myth 1: Physician's Signature Is Valid As It IsOn the contrary, CMS guidelines state that "Medicare requires a legible identifier for services provided/ordered." That "identifier" -- or signature -- can be electronic or handwritten, as long as the provider meets certain criteria. Legible first and last names, a legible first [...]