• Provider Information
  • Introduction
  • Scope of Services
  • Services Provided by Registered Nurses
    • Introduction
    • Supervision of Delegated Tasks
  • Services Provided by Licensed Practical Nurses
  • Classification of Nursing Services
  • Wisconsin Medicaid Certification Requirements
  • Requirements for Providing Ventilator-Dependent Services
    • Introduction
    • Demonstration Renewals
    • Age-Specific Requirements
  • Changes in Certification
• Rights and Responsibilities
  • Introduction
  • Universal Precautions
  • Unacceptable Practices
  • Fees Prohibited by Wisconsin Medicaid
  • Private Duty Nursing Requirements
  • Emergency and Back-Up Procedures
  • Verifying Recipient Eligibility
    • Introduction
    • Limited Benefit Categories
  • Distribution of Medicaid Information
  • Written Statement of Recipient Rights
  • Contracts with Recipient and/or Family
  • Terminating Service to a Recipient
  • Recipient Responsibilities
    • Arrangements with Nurses in Independent Practice
    • Scheduling Providers
    • Freedom from Liability for Covered Services
• Covered Services and Related Limitations
  • Introduction
  • Private Duty Nursing Benefit
  • Recipient Eligibility for Private Duty Nursing Services
    • Introduction
    • Ventilator-Dependent Recipients
    • Recipients Who Are Not Eligible for Private Duty Nursing Services
  • Hours of Care That Qualify as Private Duty Nursing Services
  • Private Duty Nursing Services Reimbursement Requirements
  • Place of Service for Private Duty Nursing Recipients
  • Providing Disposable Medical Supplies
  • Coordination Services for Ventilator-Dependent Recipients
    • Introduction
    • Documenting Coordination Services
    • Reimbursable Coordination Responsibilities
    • Change in Coordinators
  • Coordination Services for Recipients Not Ventilator-Dependent
    • Introduction
    • Coordination Services Documentation
    • Coordination Responsibilities
    • Change in Coordinators
  • Case Sharing
    • Introduction
    • Provider Responsibility
    • Case Sharing Documentation
  • Reimbursement Not Available
    • Introduction
    • Travel and Record-Keeping Time
• Documentation Requirements
  • Introduction
  • Required Information for Medical Record
    • Introduction
    • Physician Signature
  • Documentation Requirements of Supervising Nurses
  • Availability of Records to Others
    • Introduction
    • Record Maintenance After Termination as Wisconsin Medicaid Provider
• Plan of Care
  • Introduction
  • Plan of Care Documentation Methods
    • Introduction
    • Submitting Another Format for the Recipient's Plan of Care
  • Obtaining Plan of Care Forms
  • Developing the Plan of Care
  • Physician's Orders and Signature
    • Introduction
    • Start of Care
    • Certification Period
    • Verbal Orders
  • Plan of Care Requirements
  • Medical Necessity and the Plan of Care
  • Changes to the Plan of Care
• Prior Authorization
  • Introduction
  • Responsibility for Prior Authorization
  • Services Requiring Prior Authorization
    • Introduction
    • Limits on Authorized Services
  • Requesting Private Duty Nursing Hours
    • Introduction
    • Hours of Private Duty Nursing for Children
    • Requesting Pro Re Nata Hours
    • Flexible Use of Weekly Hours
  • Required Documentation for Prior Authorization Requests
    • Introduction
    • Prior Authorization Request Form
    • Private Duty Nursing Prior Authorization Acknowledgment
    • Prior Authorization Attachments
  • Submitting Prior Authorization Requests
  • Prior Authorization Effective Dates
  • Prior Authorization Responses
  • Prior Authorization Backdating
    • Introduction
    • Initial Requests
    • Extraordinary Circumstances
    • Subsequent Requests Will Not Be Backdated
    • Returned Requests
    • Amendment Requests
    • Denied Requests
  • Amending an Approved or Modified Prior Authorization Request
  • Enddating a Prior Authorization Request
  • Out-of-State Private Duty Nursing
    • Introduction
    • Out-of-State Prior Authorization Request Requirements
    • Procedure for Obtaining Authorization for Out-of-State Travel
• Claims Submission
  • Introduction
  • Claims Submission Options
    • Introduction
    • Paper Claims Submission
  • Follow-Up to Claims Submission
  • Billing Across Midnight
  • Daylight Savings Time
• Codes for Prior Authorization and Claims
  • Introduction
  • Revenue Codes
  • Date of Service
  • Procedure Codes
  • Modifiers
    • Introduction
    • Start-of-Shift Modifiers
    • Professional Status Modifiers
    • Case Coordination Modifier
  • Units of Service
    • Introduction
    • Rounding Guidelines
  • Prior Authorization Number
  • Diagnosis Code
• Appendix
• PDF

Plan of Care

Physician's Orders and Signature

Certification Period

Each certification period may last no longer than 62 days. The 62-day period corresponds with the certification period dates in Element 4 of the PA/HCA (fillable PDF, 139 KB) and includes both the "From" date and the "To" date. The POC expires at the end of the 62-day certification period.

Wisconsin Medicaid requires that all components of the POC be reviewed and signed by a physician at least every 62 days (HFS 105.19(2),Wis. Admin. Code). If multiple physicians order services, orders are combined on one POC and signed by the primary physician at least every 62 days. The nurse has the responsibility to sign and confirm the date that the information on the POC was reviewed with the physician, to verify that the POC is complete, and to keep a current and complete POC on file.

Once the physician signs the POC, it serves as the physician’s orders for the length of the certification period.

The physician must sign and date all subsequent POC prior to the beginning certification date on the POC. Otherwise, the nurse is providing services without orders, and such services will not be reimbursed by Wisconsin Medicaid. Refer to Appendix 5 of this handbook for an example of the certification period on the PA/HCA.

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