Practice Management Alert

Question: I keep hearing about PECOS, but I'm so confused about the whole thing. Do I need to do something to enroll my physicians? Alabama Subscriber Answer: If your provider orders or refers services and supplies, he must be enrolled in Medicare's Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS) by April 5 or you'll face denials. Additionally, if your physician provides services which require a referring physician, the referring physician must be enrolled in PECOS by April 5, or you'll face denials as the providing physician. Previously, CMS had indicated that the deadline for PECOS updates by ordering/referring providers would be Jan. 4, but a Nov. 23 directive delayed the deadline by three months "to try to give the physicians and non-physician practitioners who can order and refer an opportunity to get their enrollment records into PECOS," said CMS's Pat Peyton during a CMS-sponsored Open Door Forum. If you bill [...]