Therapy Scheduling in Outpatient Rehab Facilities
The day begins and ends with a simple appointment. But, in outpatient rehabilitation facilities, the therapy scheduling process is not always so simple, is it?
You know what it takes — scheduling across multiple locations for multiple days with multiple providers often in multiple therapy disciplines. You need not only to book, but to double book and triple book when things get a little hectic – not to mention staggering, recurring, canceling, and re-booking missed therapy appointments.
From bump lists to wait lists – you see it all. Let’s face it, rehabilitation scheduling is complex.
The Chart Links Scheduler — complete with rehabilitation templates — is built to ensure that patients are appropriately slotted to see who they need, when they need them, with the right resources, in the right place. Scheduling activities for patients and classes/groups with providers, equipment, locations and user-defined resources are supported.
Unlike other general medical schedulers, Chart Links has designed its scheduler around the needs of medical rehabilitation facilities. Inherent in the scheduler is the ability to schedule by cross-discipline. There is also an ability to schedule the patient with multiple therapists or resources in one easy-to-use feature (i.e., PTA with PT, OTA with OT, speech therapist with audiologist, or audiologist with hearing/screening booth and with audioscope).
To learn more about therapy scheduling through Chart Links, click here.
Chart Links Participates in PT Products’ Software Roundtable
Jim Hammer, COO of Chart Links, was invited again this year to participate in a software roundtable interview with editor of Physcal Therapy Products, Arati Murti. Here are a few of the questions and answers that were exchanged in the January 2010 edition:
PT Products: Budgets are tight in today’s economy; what are practice managers focused on in terms of software features/needs?
Jim Hammer: They’re focused on what really counts-features that provide a tangible return on investment: Compliance in coding and charting that will reduce payor denials and audits; reduce lost charges and increase revenue opportunity; Denial and revenue cycle management that will increase cash flow; and Automation of manual workflow processes (like referral and plan of care management) to create operational efficiencies and reduce labor costs.
PT Products: In what features/business areas can managers save money/time? (What software features can be used differently or combined?)
Jim Hammer: By using software to reduce the phone calls and faxing associated with physician approval of therapist-generated plans of care, both time and money can be saved. At one of our hospital-affiliated outpatient centers, both therapists and physicians were documenting electronically. However, the authorization process between the two systems required manual intervention with printing, sorting, bundling, faxing, scanning, and data input. Chart Links created a real-time interface to eliminate the manual paper chase in the workflow. By eliminating backlogs of unauthorized paper plans of care, the client has delivered quicker continuity of care (time) and has reduced billing delays (money).
PT Products: What’s the most challenging business “bottleneck” that you hear of from your customers, and how can software help avoid that situation?
Jim Hammer: Plan of care authorization management is still a manually burdensome and paper-laden process in our industry. Time is lost making phone calls, printing, signing, faxing, and waiting for paper forms to be authorized. With a Health Level 7 (HL7) interface and workflow automation, this process can be transformed into the electronic age to avoid the unnecessary paper chase.
PT Products: In terms of software needs in 2010, what are the important differences in concerns for hospitals/facilities versus private practices?
Jim Hammer: Data exchange. Hospital-affiliated outpatient rehabilitation centers must focus on how they will connect to the hospital information system and to local area referring physicians via Health Level 7 (HL7) interfaces. Standards and definition around health information exchange will be critical in the coming year.
CMS & ONC Issue Regs Proposing Definition of Meaningful Use and Setting Standards for EHR
The Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) encourage public comment on two regulations issued on December 30, 2009 that lay a foundation for improving quality, efficiency and safety through meaningful use of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology. The regulations will help implement the EHR incentive programs enacted under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act).
A proposed rule issued by CMS outlines proposed provisions governing the EHR incentive programs, including defining the central concept of “meaningful use” of EHR technology.
An interim final regulation (IFR) issued by ONC sets initial standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria for EHR technology. Both regulations are open to public comment.
- The CMS proposed rule and fact sheets, may be viewed at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/Recovery/11_HealthIT.asp
- ONC’s interim final rule may be viewed at http://healthit.hhs.gov/standardsandcertification
The Recovery Act established programs to provide incentive payments to eligible professionals and eligible hospitals participating in Medicare and Medicaid that adopt and make “meaningful use” of certified EHR technology. Incentive payments may begin as soon as October 2010 to eligible hospitals. Incentive payments to other eligible providers may begin in January 2011.
Implementation Services for Electronic Therapy Documentation
When it comes to implementing an electronic medical record for your outpatient rehab facility, Chart Links provides clinical and work flow expertise.
We employ a team of software development, implementation and support experts that have dealt with the electronic documentation of physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy evaluations for years. Our team can work with your therapists and staff members to determine how best to link an electronic patient chart to each critical resource in your rehab department.
Some of the services Chart Links offers includes:
- Engineering the system and designing the network
- Identifying and coding hospital system interfaces in HL7
- Prepare your therapists and office staff for implementation
- Applying technology to your current workflows with the least disruption to staff
- Writing customer reports that will help you best manage your facility
Contact a Chart Links representative today to learn more about how our rehab software can automate therapy documentation and scheduling for your outpatient rehab facility.
PT Supervision Requirements in an Outpatient Hospital Department
According to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), in the 2010 Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) Final Rule, issued October 30, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) confirms that physical therapy services delivered in an outpatient hospital department do not require the direct supervision of a physician.
The OPPS is the method of payment for most services delivered in an outpatient hospital department. However, physical therapy services are considered a separate benefit covered under the Medicare physician fee schedule through the Part B benefit. Therefore, they do not fall under the therapeutic services category that requires direct physician supervision under the OPPS.
New Payment Model for Anthem Blue Cross OTs in California
As reported by the Occupational Therapy Association of California (OTAC), occupational therapy practitioners within Anthem Blue Cross’ network of providers were recently notified of a planned change in Anthem Blue Cross’ payment methodology for the reimbursement of occupational therapy services in California.
This new payment model changes the current payment system to one where providers will be paid $75 per visit regardless of the treatment(s) provided or the intensity of those treatment(s).
As this change in reimbursement could prove to be financially detrimental to occupational therapy practice, the OTAC is encouraging all of its members to be a part of their grassroots advocacy effort to ensure cost-effective and quality occupational therapy services for Anthem Blue Cross clients. They have posted sample letters to use to educate executives at Anthem Blue Cross on the high value of occupational therapy services in promoting health and disability and to voice opposition to the $75 flat rate.
Spartanburg Eliminates Transcription Costs, Improves Clinician Productivity and Documentation Consistency Using Chart Links
Spartanburg Regional Rehabilitation Services is a division of Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, which is based in South Carolina and was named one of the nation’s “Most Wired” hospitals in 2007 by Hospital & Health Networks magazine. Spartanburg Regional Rehabilitation Services focuses on physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech-language pathology, and includes 68 clinicians and 10 support staff across eight locations.
At the time that Spartanburg Regional Rehabilitation Services began evaluating electronic charting solutions, the organization’s use of paperbased patient charts required advanced planning to ensure that the chart was available at the location where the patient was visiting. In addition, Spartanburg maintained the majority of its paper-based charts older than one year at an off-site storage location. As a result, the office often had to retrieve records from offsite storage before patient visits.
“One of the many disadvantages of using paper-based documentation was that the therapists had to complete a billing sheet with every patient encounter, which was time consuming, and on some occasions, was not completed in a timely manner,” said Kelly Sheppard-Fowler, Practice Manager at Spartanburg Regional Rehabilitation Services. ” Another challenge with our manual processes was the lack of electronic scheduling, which makes it all too easy to encounter scheduling errors when coordinating across different sites.”
“The other solutions evaluated didn’t have the rehabilitation-specific functionality that we needed, such as specialized reports and templates, as well as a way to link clinical documentation with scheduled appointments,” Sheppard-Fowler said. “Most importantly, the solutions didn’t track insurance authorizations for patient visits, or notify the therapists when additional visit authorization was needed for the patient. Chart Links had all of these capabilities, plus much more.”
Spartanburg went live on Chart Links electronic documentation in August 2006 following a six-month implementation that included the creation of an interface to the organization’s McKesson Star billing system. “The implementation of Chart Links was successful due to the extensive planning and knowledge of the Chart Links staff. It was very helpful that the implementation staff included a therapist from Chart Links that could relate with our clinical staff,” Sheppard-Fowler said.
Users quickly adopted the solution because it mirrored the organization’s workflow. “Illegibility problems were immediately eliminated and the accuracy and thoroughness of our documentation improved drastically,” Sheppard-Fowler said.
Using Chart Links, Spartanburg clinicians no longer have to fill out billing sheets for each patient, since the system automatically completes the task. Edits within the system check that charges are compliant with private insurance and Medicare requirements, and that any charging errors are routed into a queue for review. To further prevent errors, the interface with the McKesson Star system allows Chart Links to confirm that patient information is consistent between the two systems. Additionally, Chart Links alerts therapists if Medicare modifiers are missing, and the system tracks patient visits that count toward insurance authorizations, automatically notifying clinicians when additional visits will require reauthorization. Chart Links also allows the clinical staff to fax plans of care directly out of the system to referring physicians, and has a tracking system to ensure compliance.
Since using Chart Links, reimbursement has increased due to more accurate documentation and the ability to track insurance authorizations that help avoid lost charges. Chart Links’ edit capabilities that catch errors before claim submissions have enabled Spartanburg to decrease its error rates significantly, which has reduced accounts receivable days.
In addition, Spartanburg eliminated its $10,000 per month transcription costs since all documentation is now electronic. “Chart Links helped make our documentation consistent across all our sites, and it’s easy to access a patient chart from any of our locations,” Sheppard-Fowler said.
Spartanburg implemented the Chart Links electronic scheduling module one year after going live with electronic documentation. “Initially, we utilized the hospital’s centralized department/software to handle our scheduling needs but the existing system did not accommodate our different sites, clinicians and specialties. As a result we encountered extensive scheduling errors. Most of these errors were eliminated once we began using the Chart Links scheduling system,” Sheppard-Fowler said.
Another benefit of using Chart Links is the system’s ability to help track clinician productivity. “Although we haven’t changed our productivity expectations, we have noticed that more clinicians are meeting their productivity goals,” Sheppard-Fowler said. “Prior to Chart Links, clinicians would simply turn in productivity reports to their manager, who would only contact clinicians if they were not meeting their goals. Now, clinicians actively monitor their productivity using Chart Links, which promotes accountability and self-motivation toward obtaining productivity goals.”
Meaningful Use for Therapists
So far, recommended meaningful use measures for electronic health records (EHR) have focused on primary care providers. Hopefully, that will change soon after the Health Information Technology (HIT) Policy Committee meets in Washington later this month. At the two-day meeting, the HIT Policy Committee will hear testimony on how meaningful use might affect non-physician practitioners.
Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) mandated the creation of the HIT Policy Committee. This committee is charged with making recommendations to the National Coordinator for HIT on issues pertaining to health information technology.
National Physical Therapy Month to Focus on Obesity
According to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), October is National Physical Therapy Month and its focus is on our national obesity epidemic.
For the nearly 100 million Americans who are overweight or obese, physical activity must be a crucial component to weight loss and better health. According to a recent study conducted by the Trust for America’s Health, a research group that focuses on disease prevention, obesity rates continued their climb in 31 states last year. Health officials say the latest state rankings provide evidence that the nation has a public health crisis on its hands. Last year, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cited evidence that found that more than 22 percent of Americans did not engage in any physical activity in the previous month.
Physical therapists develop fitness plans for both adults and children that promote the ability to move, reduce pain, restore function, and prevent disability. For those who are overweight or obese, physical therapists balance the progression of the exercise prescription with the need for joint protection and safety during exercise.
Consumers can find information about National Physical Therapy Month, whose theme is “Physical Therapy: The Science of Healing. The Art of Caring,” by visiting APTA’s newly designed and easily navigable Web page for the month-long celebration at http://www.apta.org/nptm.
Physical therapists are health care professionals who diagnose and treat individuals of all ages, from newborns to the elderly, who have medical problems or other health-related conditions that limit their abilities to move and perform functional activities in their daily lives. PTs examine each individual and develop a plan of care using treatment techniques to promote the ability to move, reduce pain, restore function, and prevent disability. Physical therapists also work with individuals to prevent the loss of mobility by developing fitness- and wellness-oriented programs for healthier and more active lifestyles.
The American Physical Therapy Association (http://www.apta.org) is a national organization representing 70,000 physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, and students nationwide. Its goal is to foster advancements in physical therapist education, practice, and research. Consumers can access “Find a PT” to find a physical therapist in their area, as well as physical therapy news and information at http:// www.apta.org/consumer.
Providence Speech and Hearing Center Selects Chart Links Rehabilitation Software for 25 Therapists
Chart Links, a provider of rehabilitation workflow management software, announces the selection of its electronic therapy documentation and scheduling system by a team of 25 audiologists, speech therapists and pediatric occupational therapists at Providence Speech and Hearing Center, a not-for-profit leading provider of services to the speech and hearing impaired of Orange County, California. The software implementation will include functionality for electronic therapy documentation, cross-discipline therapy scheduling, referrals, insurance authorizations and charges. It also includes a patient demographic and billing interface to the existing practice management system.
“Our mission is to enrich life through the gifts of speech and hearing,” says Linda H. Smith, CEO of Providence Speech and Hearing Center. “Because of the efficiencies we’ll gain by automating our administrative and clinical workflows with Chart Links, we’re projecting an increase in patient load and a drastic reduction in our wait list of 1000 patients, all of whom are children.”
In 2008, Providence provided services to more than 21,000 people. Approximately 80% of Providence Speech and Hearing Center’s work is dedicated to low-income patients who are either uninsured or underinsured.
“We selected Chart Links over other systems because it was built for therapists practicing in an outpatient setting,” says Smith. “By enhancing their productivity, we expect to increase our time spent with patients and improve outcomes.”
Chart Links software streamlines all of the daily tasks associated with a patient’s physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech language pathology, or audiology visit. The software manages adult and pediatric therapy treatment by automating evaluations, flow sheets, plans of care, progress notes, patient education, and clinical correspondence. It also manages payer compliance, provider reimbursement, outcomes reporting, administrative functions, business intelligence and enterprise productivity.
About Chart Links, LLC
For 15 years, Chart Links has developed rehabilitation software that automates workflow for referrals, insurance authorizations, cross-discipline scheduling, documentation, charges, and more. Chart Links allows medical rehabilitation facilities to be more efficient and to provide a higher quality of care by delivering results in the areas of compliance, outcomes, analytics and revenue.http://www.chartlinks.com?source=prweb
About Providence Speech and Hearing Center
Founded in 1965 by Sister Margaret Anne Inman Ph.D., Providence Speech and Hearing Center is the leading service provider to the speech and hearing impaired of Orange County, California. With over 40 years of experience, Providence has grown from a one room house to a multi-million dollar non-profit organization. Providence served over 21,000 appointments in 2008 to over 3,200 unique patients. They offer a full array of speech and hearing services for children and adults alike; and, because they believe everyone deserves the gifts of speech and hearing, they accept most major insurance companies and medical groups as well as providing grants, scholarships and financing options for patients from low-income families. http:// http://www.pshc.org
RAC: CMS Approved Audit Issues Posted
To see the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) CMS-approved audit issues, visit Connolly Healthcare’s website. Connolly is the RAC Contractor for Region C. The CMS Approved Audit Issues are for hospital outpatient facilities and physicians.
According to the National Association of Rehab Providers and Associations (NARA), the first set of approved issues includes outpatient rehab in the mix, and the source of the issues comes straight from the finding in the RAC demonstration project in California and New York. In the demonstration project $3.2 million of claims for speech evaluation were found to be billed in error as time-based codes, rather than as service-based codes. The Speech evaluation code may only be billed as a unit of “1″. The same is also true for physical therapy evaluation and occupational therapy evaluation codes.
Audiology Documentation Software
Chart Links offers software that simplifies the management of an audiology clinic.
In addition to our administrative and financial features like patient registration, referral management, insurance authorization, cross-discipline scheduling, charges, reporting/analytics, and outcomes, we offer the following audiology-specific features.
- Audiology Evaluations. Standard audiology evaluation forms library (i.e., hearing loss, hearing aid assessment). Contains numerous sections with the ability to customize into sets and forms.
- Device and Inventory Tracking. Monitor devices like hearing aids, hearing aid accessories and batteries. Track stock, new orders, returns and repairs.
- Audiology Patient Education. Print-on-demand patient handouts (i.e., home programs). Instructional and educational materials are available for customization and distribution. Ability to scan-in existing sheets or create-your-own. Ability to interface to third-party electronic formats.
- Appointment Recalls. Electronically manage appointment reminders for periodic hearing exams.
- Scheduling. Ability to schedule patient with Audiologist, hearing/screening booth and audioscope in one easy-to-use feature.
- Patient Arrival Notification. Audiologist may receive a page on his/her beeper to be notified when a patient has checked in at the front desk. Great for time management when an audiologist is in the hearing booth.
- Authorizations. Monitor authorized visits for hearing evaluation and follow-up visits.
- Compliance. Support of compliance efforts with JCAHO, CARF, HIPAA and other rehabilitation professional standards. Helps ensure compliance with Medicare CCI edits and time tracking while documenting.
Contact us to schedule a one-on-one demonstration of how our software works for speech and hearing centers.
MACs + RACs = Audits
Both RACs and MACs audit providers to ensure that they’re paid correctly for services provided. But once a MAC audits a service, a RAC cannot. And vice versa. So, does that mean there might be a little friendly competition between them that could result in more audits for providers? This article written by Andrea Kraynak for HealthLeaders Media explores that notion.
CCHIT to Seek EHR Vendor Input on Town Call Meeting
The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT®), a nonprofit organization with the public mission of accelerating the adoption of health IT, will host a Town Call tomorrow for the vendor and developer community tomorrow. Chart Links Chief Operating Officer, Jim Hammer, will participate. On the call, CCHIT will gather input on the details and timing of its planned new paths to certification of electronic health record (EHR) technologies, with the goal of supporting more rapid, widespread adoption and meaningful use under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).
“We are concerned that providers could not achieve meaningful EHR use in 2011 if they wait until Spring 2010 – the expected date of HHS final approval of requirements – to begin adopting this technology,” said Mark Leavitt, M.D., Ph.D., Commission chair. “CCHIT has analyzed the recommendations of the Federal HIT Advisory Committees and is preparing to offer new paths to certification beginning this October.”
Besides updating and enhancing its current certification program for comprehensive EHRs in Ambulatory, Inpatient, and Emergency Department settings, the Commission plans to launch a more limited, modular inspection program for EHR technology, focusing only on compliance with ARRA-required standards.
During the event, planned for September 3 at 12:00 PM Central time, concepts and some details of these two programs will be discussed. Participants will be invited to submit questions and comments online, and respond to polling regarding their interest and readiness for participation in the process.
Information about the free Town Call is available at http://www.cchit.org/about/towncalls/commission-seeks-input-2009.
More information on CCHIT and CCHIT Certified® products is available at http://cchit.org and http://ehrdecisions.com.
Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) Program Underway
The Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program is under way, and outpatient rehabilitation and CORF/OPT services are now subject to review. The program, a wide-ranging cost-containment plan, is expected to cut improper payments in Medicare programs and identify ways to diminish or eliminate altogether any future improper payments, which may include payments for services that are not covered, coded improperly, or duplicate charges. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) plan to expand the program to all 50 states over time (visit www.cms.hhs.gov/RAC to view the schedule).
Outpatient rehab is within the first set of CMS-approved audit issues. The speech evaluation code, and physical therapy and occupational therapy evaluation codes, can only be billed as a unit of “1.” In the section on Timed and Untimed Codes, CMS provides numerous examples of appropriate billing methods.
Provider outreach must occur within a state before any reviews can take place. Connolly Healthcare, which is contracted to perform recovery audit services in Region C, is the first of the four contractors to hold the mandated town hall meetings (visit this site for more information: www.connollyhealthcare.com/RAC/pages/cms_RAC_Program.aspx).
To prepare for a review, physical and occupational therapists should conclude whether they have billed evaluation and/or service-based codes erroneously. If their internal audit finds billing errors, they need to find, via their compliance program, the procedure for making a voluntary refund or perhaps a self-disclosure. Those who feel they may have difficulties may wish to perform the audit through attorney-client privilege.
For more information, visit the Web sites for the RAC jurisdictions, as follows: Region A: Diversified Collection Services (www.dcsrac.com), Region B: CGI (http://racb.cgi.com), Region C: Connolly Consulting Inc (www.connollyhealthcare.com/RAC), and Region D: HealthDataInsights Inc (no Web site yet; racinfo@emailhdi.com).
Source (verbatim): Rehab Management’s RehabToday enewsletter dated 08/27/09
2009 Physical Therapist Productivity Report
Now available from the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) for its members is the 2009 Physical Therapist Productivity Summary Report. The report provides actual data on the number of patients seen by PTs versus previous reports on productivity dealing with “expectations” of patients seen.
Therapists Now Required to Notify Individuals of Health Information Breaches
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a rule requiring that individuals be notified of breaches of their health information.
These “breach notification” regulations implement provisions of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, passed as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).
The regulations, developed by the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR), require health care providers and other HIPAA covered entities to promptly notify affected individuals of a breach, as well as the HHS Secretary and the media in cases where a breach affects more than 500 individuals. Breaches affecting fewer than 500 individuals will be reported to the HHS Secretary on an annual basis. The regulations also require business associates of covered entities to notify the covered entity of breaches at or by the business associate.
The regulations were developed after considering public comment received in response to an April 2009 request for information and after close consultation with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which has issued companion breach notification regulations that apply to vendors of personal health records and certain others not covered by HIPAA.
To determine when information is “unsecured” and notification is required by the HHS and FTC rules, HHS is also issuing in the same document as the regulations an update to its guidance specifying encryption and destruction as the technologies and methodologies that render protected health information unusable, unreadable, or indecipherable to unauthorized individuals. Entities subject to the HHS and FTC regulations that secure health information as specified by the guidance through encryption or destruction are relieved from having to notify in the event of a breach of such information. This guidance will be updated annually.
The HHS interim final regulations are effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register and include a 60-day public comment period. For more information, visit the HHS Office for Civil Rights web site at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/
No Final Definition of EHR Meaningful Use until Spring of 2010
We’ve been anxiously awaiting a final definition for “meaningful use” of electronic health records (EHR) to determine which hospitals and providers will be eligible for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. However, in a press conference on August 20th, Dr. David Blumenthal, the national coordinator for health information technology, predicted that the final definition will not be available until the middle or end of spring in 2010. A preliminary definition of “meaningful use” is scheduled to be issued by the end of 2009 with a 60-day comment period.
Occupational Therapy Documentation Software
Occupational therapists, or OTs, focus on enabling people to participate in everyday activities so that they can live life to the fullest. When it comes to building the software that OTs use to document care, we want to ensure that they’re able to perform their job to the fullest. That’s why we’ve made our occupational therapy workflow software rich with features for OTs.
In addition to administrative and financial features like patient registration, referral management, insurance authorization, cross-discipline schedule, charges, reporting/analytics and outcomes — we offer the following occupational therapy documentation features:
- OT Evaluations. Standard occupational therapy (OT) evaluation forms library (i.e., hand, work conditioning, neurological).
- OT Patient Education. Print on-demand patient handouts (i.e., home programs).
- Patient Arrival Notification. OT may receive a page on his/her beeper to be notified when a patient has checked in.
- Authorizations. Monitor authorized visits for OT evaluation and follow-up visits.
- Compliance. Compliance with JCAHO, cARF, HIPAA and other rehabilitation professional standards. Ensure compliance with Medicare CCI edits, modifiers and time tracking during documentation of care.
For more information about how Chart Links Rehab Software supports the documentation of care of occupational therapists, visit our website.
Federal Trade Commission Delays Red Flag Rules
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says that it will further delay enforcement of the “Red Flag” rules until November 1. The rules were to go into effect August 1.
Therapists who provide services to patients without requiring those patients to pay in full at the time of service will need to comply with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Red Flag rules.
Red Flag rules require the development of a written Identity Theft Prevention Program. Medical identity theft refers to situations when someone uses a person’s name and other parts of their identity, such as insurance information, without the person’s knowledge or consent to obtain medical services or goods.
For more information and resources, go to APTA’s Identity Theft Web page or visit our blog post from July.