Cms Stresses On Physician Signature Requirement

By Author: Jaun Paul
Total Articles: 53
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The CMS annual error report is out and the results are mind boggling indeed - a 7.8 percent error rate in fiscal year 2009 as compared to just 3.6 percent in year 2008.


However, the higher rate is not primarily due to more incidences of fraud in the Medicare program, as was indicated in its summary of the Comprehensive Error Rate Testing (CERT) results. Instead, the rate reflects a new methodology in calculating errors in Medicare claims, which provides a more correct assessment of the errors.


CMS reported that during the review period, the national paid claims error rate in Medicare's fee-for-service program equaled $24.1 billion. Its new methodology covers a more strict adherence to policy documentation requirements, signature legibility requirements, the doing away of claims history as a valid source for review information, and the determination that medical record documentation received only from a supplier is, by definition not enough to substantiate ...
... a claim.


CMS has gone on to ask its CERT contractor to adhere more strictly to its policy requiring that services provided be verified by a legible identifier.


And with CMS eyeing more carefully at signatures, some practices have raised concern as their physicians fail to sign their documents and use stamps quite often. Suzan Berman, CPC, CEMC, CEDC, senior manager of coding and compliance with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center says that she has never recommended stamped signatures. In fact, she has discouraged it on different counts.


The agency is of the opinion that there must be documentation indicating that the physician is the only one with access to her own signature stamp. As the use of electronic records increases, auditors are accepting the electronic signature or a legible signature of the provider. They want to be sure as to who performed the service. The physicians should try to sign their records in a timely manner and at regular intervals.

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