By September 30th, 2009, podiatrists who bill Medicare for DME are required to comply with Facility Accreditation. Podiatrists who need a new or need to renew their supplier number must obtain facility accreditation before a supplier number can be issued. There is no choice but to comply in order to bill for DME once the deadline has passed.

SafeStep makes it easy to organize the information required for facility accreditation. We have partnered with a company called Podchamp that has been helping orthotists, prosthetists and pedorthists prepare for accreditation. Together, we have created a way for podiatrists to comply with this newest Medicare requirement.

Perhaps one of the most difficult yet most crucial aspects of accreditation is accurately documenting your policies and procedures. There are many sources of generic policy and procedure manuals, but these manuals are not specific to your company and require substantial work on your part to make the manual reflect your business practices.

Are your patients giving you the feedback you need? SafeStep and Podchamp can give you the tools to create CMS and HIPAA compliant results.

• Medicare says “the Supplier shall conduct beneficiary satisfaction surveys and make the results available upon request...”
 
• Furthermore, the organization must establish a survey mechanism to document patient feedback regarding his or her satisfaction with their expected functional goals.
 
• Podchamp provides a unique policy manual tailored to your organization. All clients are interviewed to determine the policies needed and the precise language of the policy.
 
• We have thoroughly reviewed the quality standards issued by CMS to the accrediting organizations. We have also reviewed the accreditation standards of the major O&P accrediting organizations. We can use that knowledge and our expertise to create a customized policy and procedure manual that addresses your specific needs and complies with the major accreditation program standards.

The SafeStep / Podchamp Facility Accreditation Manual offers podiatrists the pathway to satisfying the requirements for Facility Accreditation.  This manual is available from Podchamp directly for $699. Through SafeStep, the manual costs is only $250. Save even more, get the manual for only $149 with a purchase of $500 worth of “prefabricated AFOs” from SafeStep. Either purchase method includes 1 hour of telephone consultation with Podchamp at no extra charge.