Face-to-Face

As a condition for payment, the Affordable Care Act mandates that prior to certifying a patient’s eligibility for the home health benefit, the certifying physician must document that he or she, or an allowed non-physician practitioner (NPP), has had a face-to-face encounter with the patient. For initial home health certifications, the certifying physician must document that the physician himself or herself, an allowed NPP, or a physician caring for the patient in an acute or post-acute facility who has privileges at the facility had a face-to-face encounter with the patient.