Here's how to handle a change in the attending or certifying physician. Question:
Answer:
You can look to a recently revised question-and-answer set from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for the solution. "For mid-stream changes in the 'attending physician,' hospices should report the 'attending physician' that exists at the end of the billing period of that particular claim," CMS instructs in Q&A #9955 updated Oct. 20."For mid-stream changes in the 'certifying physician,' hospices should report the physician who actually certified the beneficiary for the hospice benefit period reflected by the services on the claim," CMS explains further. "If the billing period spans more than one hospice benefit period, the hospice should report the physician who certified the beneficiary for the latest, most recent hospice benefit period reflected on the claim."
A break:
For now, CMS says it isn't requiring changes to the attending or certifying physician on the hospice Notice of Election when the physician changes later in the billing period.Note: The Q&A is at https://questions.cms.hhs.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/9955/kw/9955.