Wednesday 30 November 2016

Independent Diagnostic Testing Facility (IDTF) Standards

Independent Diagnostic Testing Facility (IDTF) Standards 

A. IDTF Standards 
Consistent with 42 CFR §410.33(g), each IDTF must certify on its Form CMS-855B enrollment application that it meets the following standards and all other requirements:

1. Operates its business in compliance with all applicable Federal and State licensure and regulatory requirements for the health and safety of patients.

• The purpose of this standard is to ensure that suppliers are licensed in the business and specialties being provided to Medicare beneficiaries. Licenses are required by State and/or Federal agencies to make certain that guidelines and regulations are being followed and to ensure that businesses are furnishing quality services to Medicare beneficiaries.

• The responsibility for determining what licenses are required to operate a supplier’s business is the sole responsibility of the supplier. The contractor is not responsible for notifying any supplier of what licenses are required or that any changes have occurred in the licensure requirements. No exemptions to applicable State licensing requirements are permitted, except when granted by the State.

• The contractor shall not grant billing privileges to any business not appropriately licensed as required by the appropriate State or Federal agency. If a supplier is found providing services for which it is not properly licensed, billing privileges may be revoked and appropriate recoupment actions taken.

2. Provides complete and accurate information on its enrollment application. Changes in ownership, changes of location, changes in general supervision, and final adverse actions must be reported to the contractor within 30 calendar days of the change. All other changes to the enrollment application must be reported within 90 days.

NOTE: This 30-day requirement takes precedence over the certification in section 15 of the Form CMS-855B whereby the supplier agrees to notify Medicare of any changes to its enrollment data within 90 days of the effective date of the change. By signing the certification statement, the IDTF agrees to abide by all Medicare rules for its supplier type, including the 30-day rule in 42 CFR §410.33(g)(2).

3. Maintain a physical facility on an appropriate site. (For purposes of this standard, a post office box, commercial mailbox, hotel, or motel is not an appropriate site. The physical facility, including mobile units, must contain space for equipment appropriate to the services designated on the enrollment application, facilities for hand washing, adequate patient privacy accommodations, and the storage of both business records and current medical records within the office setting of the IDTF, or IDTF home office, not within the actual mobile unit.)

• IDTF suppliers that provide services remotely and do not see beneficiaries at their practice location are exempt from providing hand washing and adequate patient privacy accommodations.

• The requirements in 42 CFR §410.33(g)(3) take precedence over the guidelines in sections 15.5.4 and 15.5.4.2 of this chapter pertaining to the supplier’s practice location requirements.

• The physical location must have an address, including the suite identifier, which is recognized by the United States Postal Service (USPS).

4. Has all applicable diagnostic testing equipment available at the physical site excluding portable diagnostic testing equipment. The IDTF must—
(i) Maintain a catalog of portable diagnostic equipment, including diagnostic testing equipment serial numbers, at the physical site;
(ii) Make portable diagnostic testing equipment available for inspection within 2 business days of a CMS inspection request; and
(iii) Maintain a current inventory of the diagnostic testing equipment, including serial and registration numbers, and provide this information to the designated fee-for- service contractor upon request, and notify the contractor of any changes in equipment within 90 days.

5. Maintain a primary business phone under the name of the designated business. The IDTF must have its--
(i) Primary business phone located at the designated site of the business or within the home office of the mobile IDTF units.
(ii) Telephone or toll free telephone numbers available in a local directory and through directory assistance.

The requirements in 42 CFR §410.33(g)(5) take precedence over the guidelines in sections 15.5.4 and 15.5.4.2 of this chapter regarding the supplier’s telephone requirements.
IDTFs may not use “call forwarding” or an answering service as their primary method of receiving calls from beneficiaries during posted operating hours.

6. Have a comprehensive liability insurance policy of at least $300,000 per location that covers both the place of business and all customers and employees of the IDTF. The policy must be carried by a non-relative-owned company. Failure to maintain required insurance at all times will result in revocation of the IDTF’s billing privileges retroactive to the date the insurance lapsed. IDTF
suppliers are responsible for providing the contact information for the issuing insurance agent and the underwriter. In addition, the IDTF must--
(i) Ensure that the insurance policy must remain in force at all times and provide coverage of at least $300,000 per incident; and
(ii) Notify the CMS designated contractor in writing of any policy changes or cancellations.

7. Agree not to directly solicit patients; this includes - but is not limited to - a prohibition on telephone, computer, or in-person contacts. The IDTF must accept only those patients referred for diagnostic testing by an attending physician who: (a) is furnishing a consultation or treating a beneficiary for a specific medical problem, and (2) uses the results in the management of the beneficiary’s specific medical problem. Non-physician practitioners may order tests as set forth in §410.32(a)(3).
• By the signature of the authorized official in section 15 of the Form CMS-855B, the IDTF agrees to comply with 42 CFR §410.33(g)(7).
• The supplier is prohibited from directly contacting any individual beneficiary for the purpose of soliciting business for the IDTF. This includes contacting the individual beneficiary by telephone or via door-to-door sales.
• There is no prohibition on television, radio or Internet advertisements, mass mailings, or similar efforts to attract potential clients to an IDTF.
• If the contractor determines that an IDTF is violating this standard, the contractor should notify its Provider Enrollment Operations Group (PEOG) liaison immediately.

8. Answer, document, and maintain documentation of a beneficiary’s written clinical complaint at the physical site of the IDTF. (For mobile IDTFs, this documentation would be stored at their home office.) This includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(i) The name, address, telephone number, and health insurance claim number of the beneficiary.
(ii) The date the complaint was received; the name of the person receiving the complaint; and a summary of actions taken to resolve the complaint.
(iii) If an investigation was not conducted, the name of the person making the decision and the reason for the decision.

9. Openly post these standards for review by patients and the public.

10. Disclose to the government any person having ownership, financial, or control interest or any other legal interest in the supplier at the time of enrollment or within 30 days of a change.

11. Have its testing equipment calibrated and maintained per equipment instructions and in compliance with applicable manufacturers’ suggested maintenance and calibration standards.

12. Have technical staff on duty with the appropriate credentials to perform tests. The IDTF must be able to produce the applicable Federal or State licenses or certifications of the individuals performing these services.

13. Have proper medical record storage and be able to retrieve medical records upon request from CMS or its fee-for-service contractor within 2 business days.

14. Permit CMS, including its agents, or its designated fee-for-service contractors, to conduct unannounced, on-site inspections to confirm the IDTF’s compliance with these standards. The IDTF must---
(i) Be accessible during regular business hours to CMS and beneficiaries; and
(ii) Maintain a visible sign posting its normal business hours.

15. Enrolls in Medicare for any diagnostic testing services that it furnishes to a Medicare beneficiary, regardless of whether the service is furnished in a mobile or fixed-base location.

16 Bills for all mobile diagnostic services that are furnished to a Medicare beneficiary, unless the mobile diagnostic service is part of a service provided under arrangement as described in section 1861(w)(1) of the Act. (Section 1861(w)(1) states that the term “arrangements” is limited to arrangements under which receipt of payments by the hospital, critical access hospital, skilled nursing facility, home health agency or hospice program (whether in its own right or as an agent), with respect to services for which an individual is entitled to have payment made under this title, discharges the liability of such individual or any other person to pay for the services.)
If the IDTF claims that it is furnishing services under arrangement as described in section 1861(w)(1), the IDTF must provide documentation of such with its initial or revalidation Form CMS-855 application.

The IDTF must meet all of the standards in 42 CFR §410.33 – as well as all other Federal and State statutory and regulatory requirements – in order to be enrolled in, and to maintain its enrollment in, the Medicare program. Failure to meet any of the standards in 42 CFR §410.33 or any other applicable requirements will result in the denial of the supplier’s Form CMS-855 application or, if the supplier is already enrolled in Medicare, the revocation of its Medicare billing privileges.

B. Sharing of Space and Equipment
Effective January 1, 2008, with the exception of hospital-based and mobile IDTFs, a fixed-base IDTF does not: (i) share a practice location with another Medicare-enrolled individual or organization; (ii) lease or sublease its operations or its practice location to another Medicare-enrolled individual or organization; or (iii) share diagnostic testing equipment used in the initial diagnostic test with another Medicare-enrolled individual or organization. (See 42 CFR §410.33(g)(15).)
If the contractor determines that an IDTF is leasing or subleasing its operations to another organization or individual, the contractor shall revoke the supplier’s Medicare billing privileges.
 
C. One Enrollment per Practice Location
An IDTF must separately enroll each of its practice locations (with the exception of locations that are used solely as warehouses or repair facilities). This means that an enrolling IDTF can only have one practice location on its Form CMS-855B enrollment application; thus, if an IDTF is adding a practice location to its existing enrollment, it must submit a new, complete Form CMS-855B application for that location and have that location undergo a separate site visit. Also, each of the IDTF’s mobile units must enroll separately. Consequently, if a fixed IDTF site also contains a mobile unit, the mobile unit must enroll separately from the fixed location.
Each separately enrolled practice location of the IDTF must meet all applicable IDTF requirements. The location’s failure to comply with any of these requirements will result in the revocation of its Medicare billing privileges.

D. Effective Date of Billing Privileges
The filing date of an IDTF Medicare enrollment application is the date that the contractor receives a signed application that it is able to process to approval. (See 42 CFR §410.33(i).) The effective date of billing privileges for a newly enrolled IDTF is the later of the following:
(1) The filing date of the Medicare enrollment application that was subsequently approved by a Medicare fee-for-service contractor; or
(2) The date the IDTF first started furnishing services at its new practice location.
A newly-enrolled IDTF, therefore, may not receive reimbursement for services furnished before the effective date of billing privileges.
The contractor shall note that if it rejects an IDTF application and a new application is later submitted, the date of filing is the date the contractor receives the new enrollment application.

E. Leasing and Staffing
For purposes of the provisions in 42 CFR §410.33, a "mobile IDTF" does not include entities that lease or contract with a Medicare enrolled provider or supplier to provide: (1) diagnostic testing equipment; (2) non-physician personnel described in 42 CFR §410.33(c); or (3) diagnostic testing equipment and non-physician personnel described in 42 CFR §410.33(c). This is because the provider/supplier is responsible for providing the appropriate level of physician supervision for the diagnostic testing.

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