If you have heard that physical therapy practices will need to change the way they conduct billing in 2020, then you might be wondering how that is going to affect your business and how you work with Medicare patients. While these are only currently proposed changes, they are likely to cause some changes within the next few months and how you plan on conducting your billing.
Here’s what you should know going into these proposed changes and what you need to do in order to be compliant.
You will need more documentation
The proposed changes will require Medicare physical therapy billing to be well-documented. You will need to be able to show that you performed certain exercises and how long you spent with a patient. This will come in the form of reports and will need to be submitted for review. Without documentation, you won’t be paid for the time and effort you put into helping others, so you want to make sure that it follows the guidelines exactly.
You will need to keep track of your time
How much time you spent with a patient didn’t used to be the main factor of whether or not you would be paid for your services. With more information now required, the amount of time you work with a patient is now one of the defining aspects of how you much you will be paid, it’s important to keep that in mind. For items that are not considered within these new guidelines, you might receive a lower payment because you did not document your time correctly.
You might need to consider software
One way to avoid some of the problems that comes with these new measures is to invest in a billing software that can help you bill the correct amount. New software makes it easy to put in your time, what you have performed, and the documentation required. This way, you don’t have to worry about whether or not you are adhering to new protocol correctly or if you are missing something important. It might be worth it to invest in this technology in order to make sure that you are doing things the way you should be.
You can make your voice heard
While these guidelines are likely to go into effect, you can still make your voice heard. If you believe that these are unnecessary changes that could negatively affect your business, then you will need to submit your concerns to the APTA Regulatory action page. Many physical therapists might be wondering whether or not this will cause issues with their practices and how they choose to help patients. If this is the case, there is still time to express your worries before the changes are required.
In summary
Most industries are requiring more documentation, and the same is true for physical therapy. Knowing these guidelines can help you to transition properly without worrying that you are missing anything or that it will affect your business negatively.
