A question I often receive is can a physical therapist (PT) student, physical therapist assistant (PTA) student, occupational therapist (OT), occupational therapy assistant (OTA) student or speech-language pathologist (SLP) student document in the medical record for a Medicare beneficiary receiving outpatient therapy services and if yes, what are the co-signature requirements? In this article, I will answer these 2 questions plus a third question applying it to Medicare Advantage and commercial insurance carriers. QuestionCan a PT student, PTA student, OT student, OTA student or SLP student document in the medical record for a Medicare beneficiary receiving outpatient therapy services? Answer

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the calendar year (CY) 2021 Proposed Rule for services paid under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS). This would include outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapy services provided in all settings (private practice (both therapist-owned and physician-owned, skilled nursing facilities doing Part B, comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facilities, rehabilitation agencies, home health agencies providing Part B therapy services in the home and hospital outpatient therapy departments). This proposed rule would not apply to outpatient therapy services provided by critical access hospitals (CAHs) since CAHs are not reimbursed under the MPFS. Highlights

A question I have been receiving lately is do notes written by an assistant need to be co-signed/counter-signed by the supervising therapist? For the answer to this question, you must look in 2 places and both must say either no and be silent on this question. You must first look at your I hope you found this article helpful. Thank you for being a Gold Member!

A question I am often asked is what are the documentation requirements that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requires to support outpatient physical, occupational and/or speech therapy services above the annual therapy dollar threshold. The answer is there

Palmetto has published an updated list of active medical reviews. Pertaining to outpatient therapy, 2 of the active medical reviews include CPT code 97110 (therapeutic exercise) and 97140 (manual therapy) provided in non-private practice settings. It’s important to document not just what the patient performed in therapy that visit, but what did the therapist or assistant do for the patient that visit that required the unique skills of a therapist, or an assistant under the direction and supervision of the therapist, to provide. Did the therapist or assistant provide verbal instruction and/or correction to the patient during the performance of

The Noridian Provider Outreach and Education (POE) staff is hosting the Outpatient Therapy Services webinar on October 30, 2019 at 11 a.m. CT. This event includes: Overview What is a Certification Documentation Signatures Timed Codes Common errors Resources To sign up for this webinar or other events of interest, visit the Noridian Schedule of Events.