Podiatry Coding & Billing Alert

The podiatrist's staff can prepare the face-to-face documentation, CMS says in new Q&A.With the April 1 deadline for the physician face-to-face encounter for home care certification already in the rearview mirror, podiatrists and home care providers need to comply with the burdensome regulation. Now some information has come from CMS that may help physicians with their documentation woes.Background: Under the new FFE requirement finalized in the 2011 PPS final rule published in the Nov. 17 Federal Register, certifying physicians must see the home care patient 90 days prior to start of care or 30 days after care begins for the reason the patient is requiring home care. And the certifying physician must document the encounter as part of the certification itself or as a signed addendum to it. The documentation must include the date when the encounter occurred and a brief narrative that describes how the clinical findings of the [...]