Dermatology Coding Alert

On June 16, CMS updated its signature requirements, outlining the rules that you must follow to meet Medicare's documentation requirements. Among the regs that CMS outlined in MLN Matters article MM698 is the statement that "in order to be considered valid for Medicare medical review purposes, an attestation statement must be signed and dated by the author of the medical record entry and must contain sufficient information to identify the beneficiary." CMS offers the following example of an attestation statement, but notes that using this format is not specifically required:

I, _____[print full name of the physician/practitioner]___, hereby attest that the medical record entry for _____[date of service]___ accurately reflects signatures/notations that I made in my capacity as _____[insert provider credentials, e.g., M.D.]___ when I treated/diagnosed the above listed Medicare beneficiary. I do hereby attest that this information is true, accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and I understand that any falsification, omission, or concealment of material fact may subject me to administrative, civil, or criminal liability."

For more on CMS's signature requirements, visit www.cms.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/MM6698.pdf.