CMS held its third Special Open Door Forum call for the voluntary electronic clinical template for the home health face-to-face (F2F) encounter on May 20. CMS officials presented the latest version of the electronic and paper templates. The paper version is two pages and consists mostly of questions requiring a narrative response; the electronic version is a combination of questions that require a narrative response and checkboxes. Included in these revised versions is a “Progress Note Guidance” page that describes the purpose of the template and the criteria for the home health certification, including the F2F encounter.
During the forum, presenters reminded participants that the templates are not mandatory but can serve as a physician progress note and/or guide for documenting the F2F encounter for patients who are referred to home health care. CMS also informed participants that the Office of Management and Budget must approve the templates before they can be released. CMS estimates that it will take approximately six months.
The majority of the call was dedicated to a question and answer period related to process issues when a physician’s co-signature would be required on the F2F encounter document. CMS did not provide a definitive answer to these questions because it is currently reviewing its policies on co-signatures on the F2F encounter document. However, CMS was clear the progress note must be completed by the physician or the allowed non-physician practitioner.
Click here to view the revised electronic and paper F2F encounter templates.
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