Hospice:
Using Stand-Alone CTIs Could Save Your Hospice Claims
Published on Tue Jun 23, 2009
Don't let this critical piece of hospice documentation get lost in the shuffle. The feds might not have the authority to require a stand-alone certification of terminal illness for your hospice patients, but it's probably a good idea for your bottom line anyway. Hospices have been confused about whether to include the physician's CTI in their plan of treatment, plan of care, or as a separate stand-alone document. Some hospices "currently combine the CTI with their hospice's [POT] that contains the patient's subjective and objective medical findings, medications, and physician treatment orders," the National Association for Home Care & Hospice notes. In other words, on "the old 485." NAHC asked the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services about the dilemma and got a response that encourages the stand-alone CTI, the trade group reports. Regulations at 42 CFR Section 418.22 do not refer to the CTI as being part of any other [...]