Home Health & Hospice Week

Doc must see patient 30 days before or two weeks after start of care -- and sometimes more. As if PECOS troubles aren't straining your relationship with referring physicians enough, the feds are placing a whole new doctor-related burden on your shoulders. Based on a provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed requirements for physicians to have a face-to-face encounter with patients before certifying them for home care. Under the regulation in the July 23 Federal Register proposed rule for the 2011 home health prospective payment system, physicians or qualifying non-physician practitioners would have to see the patient 30 days before start of care or within two weeks after SOC. Qualifying NPPs include nurse practitioners, physician assistants, clinical nurse specialists, and certified nurse-midwives, CMS says. However, the NPPs (as well as the physicians) can't be employed by the HHA. [...]