In April, 2011 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) began requiring documentation of a Face-to-Face encounter between a physician and the patients they refer to home health care. The documents must include the following information:

• Patient's name
• Date of the Face-to-Face encounter with the patient
• The aspects of the patient's condition that make them homebound
• The aspects of the patient's condition that necessitates skilled services by home health
• Physicians' signature and date

Senior Home Care Streamlines Face-to-Face Documentation

• Offering Provider Link, our Web portal for physicians, which allows doctors 24/7 real-time access to home health patient data for review and electronic signature of orders, referrals, documentation of Face-to-Face encounters and more. That means less manual processing, immediate shared data and better patient care.
• Providing physicians with a comprehensive Home Health Prescription Form that meets CMS' Face-to-Face specifications and allows physicians to fill in the required information
• Ensuring that documentation is completed between 90 days prior to or 30 days following the start of home health care for a patient

The Face-to-Face encounter offers an opportunity for physicians to be fully engaged with their patients' need for home health services and provides one mechanism for CMS to monitor Medicare usage.