Wiki Old Order Dates

[gbgentry@earthlink.net]

We've been dealing with a rash of outpatient orders that are dates from 18+ months ago.
(For example: Signed by Doctor on 9/01/2016 for a lab order)
We're being told to just code them but I'm positive I saw / learned that they can't
be that old. Does anyone have a guideline or coding clinic on this?

 

[thomas7331]

The CMS guidance on orders that I'm most familiar with is from Chapter 15 of the Medicare Benefit Policy Manual, section 80.6 - 'Requirements for Ordering and Following Orders for Diagnostic Tests', but it does not mention any specific time-frame after which an order is no longer valid. I did work for a facility that had an internal policy that automatically required new orders after a set period of time, but I'm not sure what regulation if any, this was based on. This is something that could be governed by a specific local or state law, or by the accrediting agency that licenses or certifies your facility, so I would recommend referring this question to your compliance officer - it's an answer that they should have and if they don't, it's something they should research and as it would be a good thing to add to your organization's internal and compliance policies.

Here's are a couple of good articles on the topic that you might find helpful:
http://community.hcca-info.org/High...tFileKey=688ed66b-3f8d-414e-bfcd-8c78dc12b890
http://www.hcpro.com/content/42760.pdf