Identify newly reimbursable outpatient services during the COVID-19 pandemic

Why This Topic Matters

Hospitals needed updated rules for delivering outpatient care when patients could not come to standard department locations. The article helps readers understand which broad service categories, locations, and billing pathways were addressed by CMS and why these changes affect outpatient reimbursement and compliance.

Article Sections

1. Outpatient therapy, education, and training

   This section discusses Medicare guidance for furnishing certain outpatient services through telecommunications technology during the public health emergency. It also addresses the general conditions tied to those services and the types of hospital outpatient department settings involved.

2. In-person outpatient services

   This section covers services that are delivered in person at alternate hospital outpatient locations, including relocated provider-based departments. It also discusses how these services intersect with home-based care arrangements and supervision requirements.

3. Originating site fees for telehealth

   This section explains the hospital outpatient department framework for billing originating site fees when telehealth is furnished to a patient in a relocated department location. It describes the general relationship between the patient location, the hospital, and the distant-site clinician.

4. Relocation

   This section outlines the temporary relocation framework for provider-based departments and the related notification process to CMS. It also addresses the broader compliance context for hospitals using alternate outpatient locations during the emergency period.