{"id":194,"date":"2021-06-30T09:32:25","date_gmt":"2021-06-30T09:32:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/atlanticrcm.com\/blog\/?p=194"},"modified":"2021-06-30T09:32:25","modified_gmt":"2021-06-30T09:32:25","slug":"physical-therapists-guide-to-the-medicare-8-minute-rule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atlanticrcm.com\/blog\/physical-therapists-guide-to-the-medicare-8-minute-rule\/","title":{"rendered":"Physical Therapists Guide to the Medicare 8-Minute Rule"},"content":{"rendered":"

Physical Therapists\u2019 Guide to the Medicare 8-Minute Rule (\u201cRule of Eights\u201d\u2014to determine the number of units they should bill Medicare for the therapy services provided on a particular date of service)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 8-minute rule helps determine how many billable units you as a rehab therapist may charge based on the time spent with the patient for the outpatient therapy services<\/a>. Billable units (per the 8-minute rule) are computed in 15-minute increments once you cross the initial minimum of 8 minutes of providing service.<\/p>\n

What are timed and untimed codes?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Physical therapy billing codes can either be timed codes or untimed codes, based on the service offered. The untimed codes are reported as a single unit for billing purposes, irrespective of the amount of time you spent with the patient. However, the timed ones are reported using the 8-minute rule, where you can bill multiple units in 15-minute increments (one unit = 15 minutes of direct therapy), based on the actual time you spent with the patient. As a therapist, you must provide one-on-one, direct therapy for a minimum of eight minutes (considered as a minimum threshold) to receive reimbursement for a time-based treatment code.<\/p>\n

\"Guide

Guide to Medicare’s 8 Minute Rule for Physical Therapy<\/p><\/div>\n

What is the 8 minute rule in physical therapy?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 8-Minute rule, or rule of eights, helps therapists determine how many units they can bill to Medicare for the outpatient services they offer. Each timed code represents 15 minutes of treatment. Medicare adds up the total minutes of skilled, one-on-one therapy and bundles them into slabs of 15 minutes each If eight or more minutes of service were delivered you can bill for an additional unit. With fewer minutes of service than 8, Medicare does not reimburse you for another unit. Here is a simple chart that can help define the number of codes you can bill:<\/p>\n