Certificate of medical necessity

Generally, a Certificate of Medical Necessity is a piece of paper required by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to substantiate the medical necessity of an item of durable medical equipment furnished to a Medicare beneficiary. It is essentially like a detailed prescription.^[1]

A CMN generally contains 6 places where a date can be entered:

1. The "initial date" of the CMN
2. The "revised date" of the CMN
3. The "recertification" date (usually for oxygen)
4. The date the beneficiary signed it
5. The date the supplier signed it and
6. The date the physician signed it.^[2]

See also

• medical device
• medical equipment

References

1. http://medicarelaw.info/wiki/CMN (registration required)
2. See the CMS-standard CMNs, available here

Certificates of Medical Necessity/Durable Medical Equipment Information Forms

External links

• Physician's News Digest article on Certificates of Medical Necessity
• Statutory definition of a CMN at the SSA website
• Medicare manual that provides exhaustive information about the practical use of CMNs, particularly section 5.3. This is the official source of information for contractors administering the Medicare system about the use of CMNs.