Wiki Q6 modifier

tscobee

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The description of the Q6 modifier is: This is allowed if:

The regular physician is unavailable to provide the visit services;
The Medicare beneficiary has arranged or seeks to receive the visit services from the regular physician;
The locum tenens physician is compensated for his/her services on a per diem or similar fee-for-time-basis;
The substitute physician does not provide the visit services to Medicare patients over a continuous period of longer than 60 days (unless the regular physician has been called to active duty in the armed forces); and
The regular physician identifies the services as substitute physician services meeting the requirements of this section by entering HCPCS code modifier Q6 (services furnished by a locum tenens physician) after the procedure code. When Form CMS-1500 is next revised, provisions will be made to identify the substitute physician by entering his/her unique physician identification number (UPIN) or national provider identifier (NPI) when required to the carrier.
If the only substitution services a physician performs in connection with an operation are post-operative services furnished during the period covered by the global fee, these services need not be identified on the claim as substitution services.

My question is would the first one, "the regular physician is unavailable to provide the visit services", include deceased physician?
 
  • No, Medicare only permits payment for services furnished prior to a physician’s death. When a physician becomes deceased, his/her billing number, NPI and enrollment are deactivated and cannot be used after the date the physician passes away. Therefore, a locum tenens arrangement would not be permitted.
 
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