Surgical Dressings

Surgical dressings can only be provided sufficient to care for the patient in 28 days.

For liabiity purpose my suggestion is to have an an inperson exam, for the initial order.

As for the exact quantity amount to be dispensed, be woeful that Medicare expects you to determine from a prospective and not retrospective basis how much is to be dispensed.

Thus if you see patient where 7 units are allowed in week 1, then in week two they expect your documentation to at the least support using the same or lessor amount(s) and certainly not more than the initial week.

Each surgical dressing family has a different maximum number of units allowed per 28 day cycle based on the dressings properties and how it is supplied (oz, cms, yards, etc.).

As for when you can order it, you must either have a written note from the patient that they are soon running out or have run out of supplies; an in-person evaluation of the patient (less likely if they were recently seen); or you have had a contemporaneous note based on a phone conversation with the patient concerning their supply limits. Contact with the patient regarding refills cannot occur no sooner than 30 days before the delivery or shipping date.

For more information see you DME MAC Home Page and search under education for the LCD page entitled Surgical Dressings.