General Inpatient Requirements

10 - General Inpatient Requirements (Rev. 1, 10-01-03) HO-400, HO-400.G, HO-403, HO-412 The hospital may bill only for services provided. If the provider billing system initiates billing based on services ordered, the provider must confirm that the service has been provided before billing either the A/B MAC (B) or A/B MAC (A). The provider agreement to participate in the program requires the provider to submit all information necessary to support claims for services. Failure to submit such information in an individual case will result in denial of the entire claim, the charging of utilization in inpatient cases to the beneficiary record, and a prohibition against the provider billing or collecting from the beneficiary or other person for any services on the claim. A provider with a common practice of failing to submit necessary information in connection with its claims subjects itself to possible termination of its participation in the program. (See chapter 1.) State agencies will find that a significant deficiency exists in complying with the conditions of participation if the hospital repeatedly fails to transfer appropriate medical information when patients are transferred to other health facilities. Appropriate medical information includes the discharge summary, the physician's medical orders, and a summary of departmental medical records. The hospital must obtain the patient's consent for the release of medical information as soon as the decision to transfer is made, unless a blanket authorization was obtained at admission.