星空入口

Question: Some of our staff who help administer anesthesia are taking off on vacation at the same time. If we have someone else fill in, can we do so under locum tenens rules and still be reimbursed?

Hawaii Subscriber

Answer: Locum tenens, which in Latin means 鈥渢o hold the place of,鈥� is the practice of hiring a temporary replacement worker 鈥� usually a physician 鈥� to work in the place of an employee while that employee is on leave. This arrangement can involve billing for another provider鈥檚 work under the name and national provider identifier (NPI) of the staff member; again, this situation almost always involves physicians.

Whether you can hire a worker to temporarily replace your staff who are on leave may depend on their education and role. According to the Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) Novitas, locum tenens arrangements do not apply to anesthesia assistants (AAs) nor certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs).

Commercial carriers may have different policies in place for people working under locum tenens arrangements. Check whether their policies apply to AAs and CRNAs 鈥� and know that if you do hire an AA or CRNA to work on a temporary basis, you probably need to bill for their services under their own name and NPI.

Rachel Dorrell, MA, MS, CPC-A, CPPM, Development Editor, 星空入口