Home Forums Discussions General Discussion CMMS Ironies Part 1 ("paperless" requirement)

I would like to hear any comments on the following notion;
CMMS is going to require all or nearly all physician offices use EMRs.

However, here's a requirement that drives me totally F'ing bonkers. The CMN (certificates of medical necessity) forms require an original signature, not a stamp, not an electronically stamped name.

Now get this, we are supposed to be going paperless, YET they require us to print out the document and sign it, only to throw it away and waste paper.

I even have an electronic image of my original signature, however when I pasted onto PDF files, you can see the pixels and most suppliers won't accept the signature.

See my note in the other thread. Stand firm, Adam. These agencies cannot get paid without your signature. You have the upper hand here.

Leslie

Maybe then I should just stop signing the damn forms?
I doubt it would take fewer than a few days before they start calling us looking for their means to reimbursement. Would they be willing to start accepting my electronic signatures in that case I wonder?

Well, probably not as it is a Medicare requirement. But, they might be more apt to join us in our fight against these ridiculous rules. The $.84 cost for them to mail and receive back each form would certainly add up over time.

Leslie

We will line our Donkeys up shoulder to shoulder. Seriously a forum like this can do a great deal to identify some of these problems and organize a "work around" that might modify some peoples behavior. (at the 'federal level')

I agree, Martin. These things have to be fought on the Home Front by the people directly affected. The Powers That Be have no idea what is going on unless the Powers That Aren't show them the way.

Leslie

I know practices who charge 10$ for each form or 50$ per year for these administrative needs. It depends on their locale. Primary care certainly is precious enough to have some spine.

Medicare doesn't allow anyone to directly bill for the cost of completing Medicare documentation. You can bill indirectly for supervision of home health and hospice services, provided you spend over 15 or 30 minutes per patient per month. Since I spend all of 0.5 seconds reviewing the home health/hospice forms and signing them, I'll have to review a lot in order to acquire the needed minutes.