Physicians must sign orders for infusion therapy

Physician signatures are required on orders for infusion therapy before providing care or services.
Each order must include:

The date the order was written. The order must be in place within 48 hours of administering the medication
Physician signature, which must be legible so it can be easily authenticated

Verbal orders must be committed to writing, dated and signed by the person who receives the order and must be subsequently signed and dated by the ordering physician. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan documentation guidelines state, “The request for the physician’s signature must be initiated within 10 days of receipt of the verbal order and received within 30 days of receipt of the verbal order.”

Blue Cross accepts written or electronic signatures. Stamped signatures aren’t acceptable.

For more information about physician signature requirements, refer to the medical record entry and physician documentation-related obligation sections of the BCBSM Documentation Guidelines for Physicians and other Professional Providers.

None of the information included herein is intended to be legal advice and as such it remains the provider’s responsibility to ensure that all coding and documentation are done in accordance with all applicable state and federal laws and regulations.

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*CPT codes, descriptions and two-digit numeric modifiers only are copyright 2016 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.