PMD Documentation Requirements (Nationwide)

Power wheelchairs and power operated vehicles (also known POVs or scooters) are collectively classified as Power Mobility Devices (PMDs) and are covered under the Medicare Part B benefit. CMS defines a PMD as a covered item of DME that includes a power wheelchair or a POV that a beneficiary uses in the home. Effective May 5, 2005, CMS revised national coverage policy to create a new class of DME identified as Mobility Assistive Equipment (MAE), which includes a continuum of technology from canes to power wheelchairs.

In addition to the prescription for the PMD, the physician or treating practitioner must provide the supplier with supporting documentation consisting of portions of the medical record essential for supporting the medical necessity for the PMD in the beneficiary's home. In order to document the need for a PMD there are a few specific statutory requirements that must be met before the prescription is written:

1. An in-person visit between the ordering physician and the beneficiary must occur. This visit must document the decision to prescribe a PMD.
2. A medical evaluation must be performed by the ordering physician. The evaluation must clearly document the patient's functional status with attention to conditions affecting the beneficiary's mobility and their ability to perform activities of daily living within the home. This may be done all or in part by the ordering physician. If all or some of the medical examination is completed by another medical professional, the ordering physician must sign off on the report and incorporate it into their records.
3. Items 1 and 2 together are referred to as the face-to-face exam. Only after the face-to-face examination is completed may the prescribing physician write the prescription for a PMD. This prescription has seven required elements and is referred to as the seven-element order which must be entered on the prescription only by the physician.
4. The records of the face-to-face examination and the seven-element
   order must be forwarded to the PMD supplier within 45 days of the completion of the face-to-face examination 5. CMS' National Coverage Determination requires consideration as to what other items of mobility assistive equipment (MAE), e.g., canes, walkers, manual wheelchair, etc., might be used to resolve the beneficiaries mobility deficits. Information addressing MAE alternatives must be included in the face-to-face medical evaluation.