Home Health & Hospice Week

Tip: For Part B therapy, document why you're furnishing it in the home. Question: Can we furnish therapy in the home to patients who are no longer homebound? Answer: Yes, Medicare allows therapists to "treat patients in their homes as outpatients," says physical therapist Rick Gawenda, president of Gawenda Seminars & Consulting in Detroit. Providing therapy to patients in their homes is a "highly valuable service to the community," says PT Tom Howell of Howell Physical Therapy in Eagle, Ind. Remember: If patients are under a home health agency plan of care, you can't receive separate reimbursement for Part B therapy, Howell says. Once the discharge is done (and in writing), you can begin Part B therapy. If you are having contract therapists perform the service who also work in a clinic setting, Howell suggests scheduling at-home therapy for early morning or late afternoon sessions so your therapists can work [...]