Effective January 1, 2020, CMS introduced a “Standard Written Order” (SWO) which replaces the “Detailed Written Order” (DWO) for billing most DMEPOS items. From a general DMEPOS billing perspective, the move to an SWO from a DWO is a very positive change implemented by CMS to clarify the order requirements and reduce confusion. The main change in the requirement involves the dates needed on an Rx/Order. A DWO (for dates of service prior to 1/1/2020) required 2 dates: 1) an Order Date (Verbal or Written) and 2) a Physician’s Signature Date. With the SWO (for dates of service 1/1/2020 and after), the Physician’s Signature Date is no longer required. The SWO only requires an Order Date, which must be on or prior to the patient’s receipt of the DMEPOS item(s). A physician’s/health care provider’s signature is still required and must be obtained prior to billing. For more information on all the SWO requirements, please visit:
https://med.noridianmedicare.com/web/jddme/topics/documentation/standard-written-order
MotionMD® Customers:
If you are currently using DJO’s MotionMD® software, development efforts have begun to update the MotionMD Patient Agreement (PA) in accordance with the new SWO requirements. We are pleased to announce that the Verbal Order process, including the Verbal Order Early Warning Notification, within MotionMD will be removed. A new “Order Date” will be automatically saved and displayed on the MotionMD PA once a product(s) has been added. Additionally, we will no longer display a Physician’s signature date at the time of Physician signature on MotionMD generated pdfs. Lastly, the Order Date on the prescription will be renamed “Order/Prescription Date” for use across all payors, not just governmental payors. These changes are expected to be released to MotionMD over the next 1-3 weeks. Users will receive advanced notification of the release dates via announcements within MotionMD. The changes are minimal from a user standpoint, and we anticipate improved workflow efficiencies once implemented.