
4 Common Rehab Therapy Documentation Mistakes
Creating defensible SOAP documentation is a tedious but crucial skill for rehab therapists to master.
Creating defensible SOAP documentation is a tedious but crucial skill for rehab therapists to master.
The #spookyszn has come and gone, but for many physical therapists, the threat of a Medicare audit is far more frightening than any ghoul or goblin—no matter what time of year it is. As such, some PTs may try to subvert the ever-watchful eye of CMS by remaining cautious as their patients creep closer to the Medicare physical therapy threshold (formerly known as the “Medicare physical therapy cap”).
How familiar are you with the Medicare guidelines for physical therapy documentation? What about for occupational therapy documentation? If you’re a PT or OT—and you’re anything less than 100% confident in your knowledge of the Medicare documentation rules that apply to your specialty—then you’ve come to the right place.
With declining reimbursements—and ever-increasing documentation and reporting requirements—it’s no wonder so many rehab therapists are stepping out of contracts with third-party payers to pursue a cash-pay business model.
Physical therapy billing is complicated enough. When you throw Medicare into the mix, it becomes an even bigger headache. But when you consider the fact that, as of 2015, more than 55 million Americans receive Medicare coverage, every physical therapist is bound to contend with Medicare rules at some point.
During this month’s webinar, compliance experts Heidi Jannenga, PT, DPT, ATC, WebPT Co-Founder and Chief Clinical Officer, and Veda Collmer, JD, OTR, WebPT’s Chief Compliance Officer, discussed strategies for contending with compliance chaos and Medicare mayhem.
Once upon a time, there was a clinic that never had a single denied claim or failed audit. This clinic prioritized ensuring compliance with Medicare rules and regulations just as much as delivering top-notch patient care and shipping clean claims.
See answers to real-life PT billing questions asked during our live open forum webinar.
Feel like you’re constantly fighting claim denials? Learn how to document for medical necessity using CMS and APTA standards.
We received more than 600 questions during our Medicare open forum webinar. Here are the most common ones, along with answers.
Learn when you can—and can’t—issue this form to your patients.
Answers to all your toughest physical therapy billing questions.