HOME / Featured News / NEWS FROM THE FEDS
Medicare Signature Requirements
Rate This Article:
0
Medicare Signature Requirements for Patient Health Records:

What You Need to Know
  • Medicare requires that services provided to a patient are authenticated in the patient health record.
  • Hand written or electronic signatures are acceptable.
  • A handwritten signature is a mark or sign by an individual on a document to signify knowledge, approval, acceptance or obligation.
  • Stamp signatures are not acceptable.
  • You must be familiar with your Local Coverage Determination (LCD) policy on authenticating records as these policies will take precedence over the guidelines below.
  • If your LCD does not have specific signature requirements regarding the legibility and presence of a signature, your contractor will following the guidelines below to determine the identity and credentials of the signator.
Guidelines for Determining the Identity and Credentials of a Provider
  • If, in the course of a patient health record review, a signature is found to be illegible, Medicare contractors will look for a signature log or attestation statement to determine the identity of the provider.
  • A signature log includes a list of the typed or printed name(s) of the author(s) of the associated initials or illegible signature(s).
  • The signature log can be included on the page where the initials or signature are present, or may be in a separate document.
  • Although a reviewer may encourage providers to list their credentials in the signature log, a claim should be not denied if the log is missing a provider’s credentials.
  • All signature logs should be considered regardless of the date the log was created.
Attesting to a Signature’s Validity
  • Providers can include an attestation statement in the documentation they submit.
  • Only the author of the medical record can attest to the record in question.
  • Attestations will be accepted by reviewers regardless of the date of the attestation, except in those cases where the regulations or policy indicate that a signature must be in place prior to a given event or a given date. For example, if a policy states the physician must sign the plan of care before therapy begins, an attestation can be used to clarify the identity associated with an illegible signature but cannot be used to “backdate” the plan of care.
  • CMS recommends that, rather than backdating a patient health record, providers should use the signature authentication process explained below.
  • In some situations, a provider may be contacted by a contractor and asked to submit an attestation statement or signature log. Providers will have 20 calendar days from the date of the contractor’s call, or the date that the request letter is received by the post office, to provide the information.
  • To be valid for Medicare medical review purposes, the attestation statement must be signed and dated and contain sufficient information to identify the beneficiary. An example is included below:
“I, _____[print full name of the physician/practitioner]___, hereby attest that the medical record entry for _____[date of service]___ accurately reflects signatures/notations that I made in my capacity as _____[insert provider credentials, e.g., M.D.]___ when I treated/diagnosed the above listed Medicare beneficiary. I do hearby attest that this information is true, accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and I understand that any falsification, omission, or concealment of material fact may subject me to administrative, civil, or criminal liability.”
 
Post A Comment
* Indicates Required Field
Comment Title:
* Comments:
Nickname:
* Validation:
Most Recent Comments
 
 
FeaturedNews
OIG: Feds Don't Know Who's Opted Out of Medicare
Published 02/09/2012 - 5:46 a.m.  CDT

Medicare and its contractors don't adequately track which physicians are opting out of Medicare, making it nearly impossible to determine who is cutting ties with the program and why, according to a memo from the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Inspector General (OIG).
...Read More
Docs Urge Feds to Regulate 'Toxic' Sugar
Published 02/08/2012 - 6:25 a.m.  CDT

Added sugars are as much a threat to public health as alcohol and tobacco, and should be regulated in a similar fashion, some researchers suggest. That includes levying taxes on sugary foods and even enforcing age limits for buying sodas" researchers suggest.
...Read More
Drug wholesaler & pharmacies License Suspended by DEA
Published 02/07/2012 - 6:29 a.m.  CDT

Federal authorities have charged a major health care company and two CVS pharmacies in Florida with violating their licenses to sell powerful pain pills and other drugs.

The DEA suspended Cardinal Health's controlled substances licenses on Friday for the third time in five years. The Drug Enforcement Administration linked Cardinal Health to unusually high shipments of the controlled drugs to four pharmacies.  A federal judge temporarily halted the suspension the same day after Cardinal, a $1.3 billion company, said it would stop supplying the drugs to the four pharmacies.

The DEA alleges that Cardinal knew or should have known that the four retail pharmacies had purchased far more drugs than it needed to fulfill legitimate prescriptions.

...Read More
Reader Login
Username:
Password:
 Save Login?
Free Sign-up
Forgot Password?
Reader Control Panel
Article Popularity
Views
Ratings
Comments

Three months of rehabilitation with manual mobilization can attenuate thoracic kyphosis in elderly patients with osteoporosis.

TCA District 5 asks the question: "Have you ever wanted to get more involved and give back to your colleagues and the Chiropractic Profession? Now is your chance! We are looking for hardworking and passionate DCs to join the TCA District 5 Leadership!"

"This is your chance to be a part of the BIGGEST development of Chiropractic in Texas! Help us make history and preserve our practices for future generations. 2012 is about improving and redefining how Texans understand Chiropractic.

TCA District 5 will have an official vote on February 21st, 2012 at the Quarterly Meeting.

Find more information about TCA District 5's elections in this article.

Any alcohol consumption during pregnancy -- especially during the second half of the first trimester -- puts the newborn at risk for fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), results of a study showed.

Medicare and its contractors don't adequately track which physicians are opting out of Medicare, making it nearly impossible to determine who is cutting ties with the program and why, according to a memo from the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

Did you know that the man in charge of the entire U.S. Olympic training facility and program is a Doctor of Chiropractic?

He is, and Dr Bill Moreau is coming to the TCA District 5 meeting on February 21, 2012.

Virtual reality exercise games, like the Wii Fit, may help older adults fight cognitive decline, researchers found.

If the Supreme Court rules that the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate is unconstitutional, the entire law doesn't need to be thrown out, lawyers for the Obama administration argued in a brief filed with the high court.

Added sugars are as much a threat to public health as alcohol and tobacco, and should be regulated in a similar fashion, some researchers suggest. That includes levying taxes on sugary foods and even enforcing age limits for buying sodas" researchers suggest.

Parker University held the Starlight Soirée, the premier chiropractic research event, on Friday, January 20, during Parker Seminars Las Vegas. The event raised nearly $33,000 for chiropractic research.

More than 100 headphone-wearing American pedestrians have been struck by trains, cars, or other vehicles since 2004, highlighting the danger pedestrians face when they shut their ears to the world, researchers said.