August 15, 2013•Alerts
New Medicare Regulations for Durable Medical Equipment
Forwarded by the Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania –
Friends –
Alert from the Pennsylvania Coalition of Nurse Practitioners –
Less Than 50 Days Until Medicare Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Regulations Take Effect
Starting October 1, new Medicare regulations will require nurse practitioners to obtain a physician’s documentation on the patient’s medical record that a face-to-face encounter with that patient has taken place within the six months prior to the order of certain durable medical equipment (DME). The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) not only objects to this burdensome documentation requirement but also warns that the list of items impacted by the
regulation are routinely ordered items such as home glucose monitors, oxygen, respiratory equipment such as nebulizers, bed padding, and basic wheelchairs. Click here to review a full list of the items.
This new documentation requirement will go into effect on October 1 unless Congress or the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) takes action. Please contact your Members of Congress here and contact CMS here to urge them to take steps to permanently delay implementation of this rule. Please also urge Congress and CMS to create more reasonable requirements by decreasing the list of DME that require a documentation of the face-to-face visit and by revising the requirement that a physician must document on the patient’s medical record that the face-to-face visit has occurred.
For more information, please contact:
Susan M. Schrand, MSN, CRNP
Executive Director
Pennsylvania Coalition of Nurse Practitioners