Ways and Means to Discuss O&P Clinical Notes in Patient Records

The U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means is meeting on July 13 at 2 p.m. ET to conduct a formal markup on the Medicare Part B Improvement Act of 2017 (H.R. 3178). Markup is the process by which a congressional committee debates, amends, and rewrites proposed legislation. The bill includes a provision that clinical notes by orthotists and prosthetists will be part of the patients’ medical records.
The language that will be reviewed by the committee is as follows:
SEC. 103. Orthotist’s and prosthetist’s clinical notes as part of the patient’s medical record.
Section 1834(h) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.1395m(h)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(5) Documentation Created by Orthotists and Prosthetists. For purposes of determining the reasonableness and medical necessity of orthotics and prosthetics, documentation created by an orthotist or prosthetist shall be considered part of the patient’s medical record to support documentation created by eligible professionals described in section 1848(k)(3)(B).”
To read the bill, visit https://waysandmeans.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/20170713-H.R.-3178.pdf.
To watch the markup meeting, visit https://waysandmeans.house.gov/live/.