Field 31 - Physician signature

[jalmora]

  If the clinician signature required in field 31 of a 1500 is not convenient to obtain, what are my options?  Clinical records are all in order as to proving services were ordered and provided.  It's just the claim form that stumps me.  I've read you can have an electronic signature, signature on file, and provider representative signature.  Trouble is, I don't know the full requirements of each of those and haven't been able to find an explanation online.  Is there some kind of authorization or attenstation statement that must be on file to use them?  Does there need to be one for every individual patient or can it be blanket?  Is one able to sign for the clinician if that clinician has given written approval to do so for billing only?  Lastly, does anyone have an online reference that elaborates on this?  Thanks so much for any information you can offer.

[Michele]

Practice management systems create a computer generated signature on the claim form.  The patient's charts must match what is being billed.  You do not need a statement for every individual patient.  If you are a billing service your contract should cover that you are billing on behalf of the provider based on information provided to you by the provider/provider's office.  I am not sure of an online reference to this.

[DMK]

I may not be understanding all of this question, but the doctor's intake form usually includes a place for the patient to sign allowing the doctor to bill insurance for services and for the insurance company to pay them directly.  If their intake form doesn't address this, it should.

[Michele]

I think you may have covered the questions DMK,  I was confused too because usually providers don't actually sign the form so I was hung up with "not convenient to obtain".

[jalmora]

We are a behavioral health provider with multiple clinicians.  Some have licensed credentials and some do not, so some are payable by private insurance and some are not.  Since all are payable by Medicaid, I must bill private insurances first.  How does field 31 get completed if the specific clinician isn't available to sign it?  We have an old DOS system (can you believe it?) and it does not put an electronic signature in that field. 

[PMRNC]

Are you filing electronic? You have an upgrade planned right to make sure your 5010 compliant and ready? If your not filing electronic, I'm guessing you can just stamp or write in signature on file, you also want to make sure that 24J has provider's (rendering) NPI.  On CMS 1500 instructions there are things you have to follow if not filing electronic and then it also says:

NOTE: This is a required field; however, the claim can be processed if the following is true.
If a physician, supplier, or authorized person's signature is missing, but the signature is on
file; or if any authorization is attached to the claim or if the signature field has "Signature on
File" and/or a computer generated signature.

If you have an older system and since this field has always been required, how has the practice been doing it?

[jalmora]

Thanks Linda.  We file old-school...paper.  Clinicians have been signing the 1500's, but it's a pain.