Hospice Tip: Certification/Recertification

If a hospice provider receives an error that states the physician certification/recertification is missing, what can a hospice provider do to eliminate this error?
Providers must ensure a complete written initial certification of terminal illness from the medical director of the hospice or the physician member of the hospice interdisciplinary group (IDG), and the individual’s attending physician if the individual has an attending physician, that includes the benefit dates that the certification covers to support the Hospice services billed on the appropriate dates of service, are well documented. For subsequent periods, the hospice must obtain, no later than two calendar days after the first day of each period, a written certification statement from the medical director of the hospice or the physician member of the hospice’s IDG. A written certification must be on file in the hospice patient’s record prior to submission of a claim to the A/B MAC (HHH).