Understanding Medicare Guidelines for Your Physical Therapy Practice

Within the past two decades, a multitude of different changes have occurred throughout our society, and the transformation of the healthcare industry has certainly been one of the most impacted facets. There have been a myriad of changes that the medical field has experienced, and one of the greatest changes has been the growth of the physical therapy field. Physical therapy has become increasingly more popular throughout the 21st century, as it aids patients with ailments of all different types. Practices understand the importance of physical therapy in 2021, but oftentimes they struggle with difficult billing processes, especially those from Medicare. There are numerous Medicare physical therapy guidelines that your practice will have to follow if you participate with this service; and while it may seem confusing to deal with these types of billing procedures, if you know what to do, it will become much simpler. There are a variety of different standardized practices that you have to follow, and learning how to adhere and comply with these standards will ensure that your practice has the ability to get paid effectively and efficiently. 

Learning about Medicare Progress Notes 

In order to deal with the Medicare billing process, your practice has to adhere to the standards of the service’s progress notes requirements. Medicare requires clinicians to fill out progress notes that updates them on how patients are performing throughout their sessions. Within your progress notes, there are a multitude of different facets that you need to feature, including whether or not services are deemed medically necessary. In order to be medically necessary, services have to either be improving a patient’s issues or helping with maintenance of a physical problem. Progress reports need to be written once every ten visits to your office, and by filling out these reports, you will be able to ensure that you will be paid by Medicare quickly and efficiently. If you do not fill out the progress reports effectively and within the timeframe, Medicare will take back their payment, as well as add penalty fees, which can be detrimental to your practice.   

Understanding How to Fill Out Progress Reports

If you want to ensure that you are able to retain your Medicare funding, then you need to ensure that your progress reports are filled out properly and comply with all of Medicare’s standards. It is critical for your company to learn about the numerous facets; some of them include reporting measurements that quantify progress, objective reports of patient’s subjective statements, plans for continuing treatment, assessing improvement, as well as any changes within your goals. You also need to focus on other elements that could be easily overlooked, such as signature and credentials of clinicians, changes to goals with a new plan of care, and dates included within the report. Understanding all of these elements is essential for your practice’s success.

Final Thoughts

In order to have the best experience possible with your physical therapy practice, you need to ensure compliance with all Medicare regulations. Understanding how to do this properly in your practice is essential for your success.