CMS: Maintain DMEPOS records for 7 years
October 19, 2012Physicians, including ODs, who order durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies (DMEPOS) under Medicare must now maintain documentation regarding such orders for at least seven years and be able to provide access to that documentation on request from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) or a Medicare payment contractor, according to a new Medicare Learning Network article.
The new DMEPOS documentation maintenance policy took effect Oct. 1, according to the CMS.
Documentation could be requested should a payment contactor detect an unusually high number of denied claims involving a provider, the Medicare Fraud Prevention System for some other reason has generated an alert regarding the provider, or the provider has been the subject of a recent Medicare Zone Program Integrity Contractor referral, the CMS noted.
The documentation maintenance requirement applies to optometrists who prescribe eyeglasses following cataract surgery for Medicare patients, as eyeglasses are considered DMEPOS by the CMS.
For additional information, see MLN Matters article MM 7890, Ordering and Certifying Documentation – Maintenance Requirements, which can be accessed online at http://tinyurl.com/MM7890.
