Under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), the requirement for physicians to document face-to-face encounters conducted by nurse practitioners, physician assistants, or clinical nurse specialists has been eliminated, effective 9/9/2015.
As revised by MACRA, a physician, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or clinical nurse specialist can document a face-to-face visit with a patient and write an order for durable medical equipment. The physician no longer needs to co-sign the face-to-face visit when the nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or clinical nurse specialist performs the visit. *An exception to this rule is diabetic shoes – those must still be signed by an M.D. or D.O.
The 6-month face-to-face encounter requirement has not been changed by MACRA, so written orders for durable medical equipment must occur within 6 months of the face-to-face patient visit.
If you or your staff have any questions, please reach out and our Regional Account Managers will be happy to assist in any way they can.
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