Family physicians spend more than 10 minutes completing all the necessary paperwork to ensure that a patient who needs a power mobility device gets it, AAFP told CMS in a recent letter.
AAFP Board Chair Mary Frank, M.D., of Mill Valley, Calif. was responding to CMS' interim final rule regarding power mobility devices.
According to the letter, the rule addresses most of the Academy's most pressing concerns regarding family physicians' role in making sure such devices -- primarily motorized wheelchairs and scooters -- are accessible to patients who need them.
However, the time factor is still a sticking point, Frank told CMS Administrator Mark McClellan, M.D., Ph.D. Under the interim final rule, CMS plans to pay physicians for completing required paperwork and "we appreciate the recognition that this paperwork burden represents a cost to physicians and their practices," said Frank. However, "your estimated time burden is incorrect," she said.
"We believe it is fallacious for CMS to think that reviewing the patient's chart, identifying the parts that are relevant, having them copied, and then providing them to the beneficiary and supplier will take only 10 minutes," said Frank.
Other portions of the interim final rule reflected success for the Academy's lobbying efforts on the issue over the years.
- CMS is removing the stipulation that only a specialist in physical medicine, orthopedic surgery, neurology or rheumatology can prescribe a power-operated vehicle for purposes of Medicare coverage. "The AAFP has advocated for years that family physicians are also capable of determining whether or not a beneficiary needed and could use a POV," said Frank.
- CMS is eliminating the certificate of medical necessity for power wheelchairs and POVs.
The interim rule will add little, if any, diagnostic burden to family physicians because most FPs already perform the required face-to-face examination before prescribing these devices, said Frank.
Frank also told CMS it should be easy for FPs to provide portions of a patient's relevant medical record and other documentation to durable medical equipment suppliers because "most family physicians document their patients' need for a power wheelchair or POV before prescribing one."
