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From change.org:
The other day, an elderly amputee broke down in tears in my office because she couldn't get her doctor to write the documentation required to justify a prosthesis.
The doctor's resistance wasn't her lack of capability for walking. It wasn't that he doubted the medical necessity of the prosthesis. The reason he wouldn't write the documentation was that he didn't know what to write and didn't have the time to learn it.
For many years, Doctors have relied on prosthetic practitioners named Prosthetists to justify prostheses based on a patients functional level, interests, and health condition while a doctor was responsible for signing off on the care. In 2001, congress insured this status by requiring that a prosthesis be "furnished by qualified practitioner". However Medicare (CMS) never complied with the law, and in 2012 took steps in the opposite direction by claiming Prosthetists are only suppliers (like wheelchair salesmen) and removing their documentation from the Patient's Medical Record for purposes of prosthetic justification.
Since 2011, CMS has been allowing for-profit companies (RAC auditors) to take money back from Prosthetists for prostheses fit as far back as 2010. The main reason is lack of physician documentation. This has Prosthetists scared stiff and asking Physicians to justify everything that the Prosthetists do. Physicians can't or won't create this documentation and amputee's are going without prosthetics.
I can source every claim that I have made above. References and policy detail are listed below.
Please sign the petition if you agree and believe that Medicare should follow the law, comply with BIPA, section 427, and support amputee's in getting the prosthetic care they deserve.
Thank You
-Jeff Erenstone CPO
Statement:
I believe that a certified prosthetist is a qualified medical practitioner whose assessment of prosthetic justifications and amputee functional level should currently be part of the medical record as BIPA, section 427 mandates.
more….
http://www.change.org/petitions/medicare-its-time-to-start-following-the-law
The other day, an elderly amputee broke down in tears in my office because she couldn't get her doctor to write the documentation required to justify a prosthesis.
The doctor's resistance wasn't her lack of capability for walking. It wasn't that he doubted the medical necessity of the prosthesis. The reason he wouldn't write the documentation was that he didn't know what to write and didn't have the time to learn it.
For many years, Doctors have relied on prosthetic practitioners named Prosthetists to justify prostheses based on a patients functional level, interests, and health condition while a doctor was responsible for signing off on the care. In 2001, congress insured this status by requiring that a prosthesis be "furnished by qualified practitioner". However Medicare (CMS) never complied with the law, and in 2012 took steps in the opposite direction by claiming Prosthetists are only suppliers (like wheelchair salesmen) and removing their documentation from the Patient's Medical Record for purposes of prosthetic justification.
Since 2011, CMS has been allowing for-profit companies (RAC auditors) to take money back from Prosthetists for prostheses fit as far back as 2010. The main reason is lack of physician documentation. This has Prosthetists scared stiff and asking Physicians to justify everything that the Prosthetists do. Physicians can't or won't create this documentation and amputee's are going without prosthetics.
I can source every claim that I have made above. References and policy detail are listed below.
Please sign the petition if you agree and believe that Medicare should follow the law, comply with BIPA, section 427, and support amputee's in getting the prosthetic care they deserve.
Thank You
-Jeff Erenstone CPO
Statement:
I believe that a certified prosthetist is a qualified medical practitioner whose assessment of prosthetic justifications and amputee functional level should currently be part of the medical record as BIPA, section 427 mandates.
more….
http://www.change.org/petitions/medicare-its-time-to-start-following-the-law
