As healthcare has grown throughout the 21st century, there have been a myriad of changes throughout the industry. All throughout the field in 2021, there have been a variety of changes that have immensely improved the way that patients are able to get treatment and improved the way that practitioners work. There are numerous transformations within the field, and one of the most imperative of these has been the growth of the physical therapy field. Physical therapy has become more prevalent because of its less invasive nature, but operating a practice comes with a variety of challenges. Running a PT practice in 2021 is no simple task, especially as the administrative standards have become more difficult. One administrative standard that is critical to adhere to is the Medicare physical therapy guidelines, as these are very stringent and need to be followed in order to retain Medicare patients. In order to ensure that your practice continues to get funding from Medicare, it is crucial for you to be able to effectively navigate this process. While this is certainly no simple task, when you learn how to do it efficiently, you will be able to streamline this process and have a greater overall experience for your patients.
Understanding the Use of Medicare Progress Notes
In order to ensure that your business continues to receive funding for Medicare patients, it is imperative that you adhere to the stringent guidelines set forth. Medicare progress notes are not easy to fill out for a variety of reasons; however, if you know exactly what to do, you will be more successful. During the early stages of learning about Medicare progress notes, it is important that you understand the concept of medically necessary. All your patients’ services need to be considered medically necessary, and this means that you are either maintaining your patients’ medical status or improving their functionality and wellbeing. By ensuring that you are accomplishing one of these feats, you are on the right start to ensure that services are medically necessary.
Numerous Elements of Progress Notes
Once you ensure that your services are considered medically necessary, you will also need to adhere to other elements in your Medicare progress notes for PT patients. One of the most essential facets is that you fill out progress notes every 10 sessions, as failure to do this will, unfortunately, lead to loss of payment along with Medicare penalty fees. You will also need to ensure that you note all objective patient movement measurements, changes in your patient goals, sustaining further treatment, dates of services, as well as the clinicians’ signatures. By having this variety of elements included in your Medicare progress notes, you will be sure to have a more effective experience.
Final Thoughts
When you ensure that you comply with all of Medicare’s progress note standards, your physical therapy practice will ensure a greater experience for you and your patients. Following Medicare’s guidelines is critical to your continued success.
