CMS has announced its concern regarding the level of compliance for documenting the face-to-face elements necessary for home health care certification.

Attached is an educational piece published by Novitas Solutions on its Part B website.

It lists the qualification criteria for home health benefits:

• Be confined to a home;
• Under the care of a physician;
• Receiving services under a plan of care established and periodically reviewed by a physician;
• Be in need of skilled nursing care on an intermittent basis or physical therapy or speech-language pathology; or
• Have a continuing need for occupational therapy.

The article then proceeds to list the major documentation errors:

• The encounter was related to the primary reason for home care;
• How the patient’s condition supports the patient’s homebound status; or
• How the patient’s condition supports the need for skilled services.

Finally, the article provides examples of appropriate documentation, which are contained in the article itself.