subject: Medicare Signature Rules to Get the Payments [print this page] Do you comply with medicare signature rules? If no, you could be risking your payments.
Here's a scenario: One of our physicians likes to sign everything with just his initials or for that matter sometimes an illegible scrawl. Do we require some type of documentation to support what an auditor might not be able to read?
Read on and know the solution to this question:
Yes, you would be wise to keep a signature log as additional documentation.
What is it all about: Medicare requires that the professional who orders or provides services authenticate the services. According to information coming from National Government Services (NGS), the documentation must have either a legible handwritten, full signature with credentials, handwritten initials over a typed or printed name or electronic signature. As a matter of fact, Medicare defines a handwritten signature as a mark or sign by an individual on a document to signify knowledge, approval, acceptance or obligation, according to bulletin MM6698.
If the chart has in it an illegible signature or the provider's initials instead of a full signature, you might need to include a signature log in documentation for the payer. The log identifies the provider associated with the service. You can include the log on the page with the initials or illegible signature or as a separate document. States MLN Matters bulletin MM6698, implemented April 16, 2010, "reviewers will consider all submitted logs irrespective of the date they were created."
