RE: Hospital outpatient transmittal 72

[Guest guest]

If you did not hear...

http://www.apta.org/PTinMotion/NewsNow/2012/2/17/CMS/

" Friday, February 17, 2012

CMS Revises Interpretative Guidelines for Rehabilitation in Outpatient Hospitals

In response to concerns raised by APTA and other associations, the Centers for

Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) revised interpretative guidelines

(Transmittal 72) to eliminate the requirement that rehabilitation services

furnished in outpatient hospital settings be ordered by a practitioner with

medical staff privileges. The new guidance issued to the State Survey Agency

Directors on February 17 is effective immediately and includes the following

language:

Requirements for Ordering Hospital Outpatient Services: Outpatient services in

hospitals may be ordered (and patients may be referred for hospital outpatient

services) by a practitioner who is:

responsible for the care of the patient;

licensed in, or holds a license recognized in the jurisdiction where he/she sees

the patient;

acting within his/her scope of practice under state law; and

authorized by the medical staff to order the applicable outpatient services

under a written hospital policy that is approved by the governing body. This

includes both practitioners who are on the hospital medical staff and who hold

medical staff privileges that include ordering the services, as well as other

practitioners who are not on the hospital medical staff, but who satisfy the

hospital's policies for ordering applicable outpatient services and for

referring patients for hospital outpatient services.

Previous Guidance Superseded: This guidance supersedes the guidance for

?482.56( (Tag A-1132) and ?482.57((3) (Tag A-1163) found in SC-11-28 (May

13, 2011) and State Operations Manual (SOM) Transmittal #72 (November 18, 2011).

The hospital's medical staff policy for authorizing practitioners to refer

patients for outpatient services must address how the hospital verifies that the

referring practitioner who is responsible for the patient's care is

appropriately licensed and acting within his/her scope of practice.

Resolving this issue has been a high priority for APTA and its members. APTA

believes that this language is a significant improvement. The Survey and

Certification Policy Memorandum in its entirety will be available on CMS's Web

site next week. "

Thank you APTA and other associations for fixing this.

Carl Grota, PT

Ministry Door County Medical Center

Rehab Services

1300 Egg Harbor Rd Ste #108

Sturgeon Bay Wi 54235