Breaking news: CMS to unveil PECOS surrogate program

by: Karen Long Aug 7, 2013

Practice staff will have a legal way to complete physician enrollment using the Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System (PECOS) as CMS is poised to roll out its long-awaited surrogate program for use by the end of August.

The surrogate program will legalize a now noncompliant but common practice of non-physician staff using providers’ usernames and passwords to enroll in PECOS.

Surrogates will have to register to receive their own usernames and passwords then request that providers grant them access to their information, CMS told enrollment experts, including David Zetter of Zetter Healthcare Management Consultants in Mechanicsburg, Pa., on Aug. 7.

The process is similar to how Facebook users send friend requests and can’t see personal information until the friend accepts, Zetter explains.

The provider will receive two emails – one with a link and one with a PIN number – and must log in to approve or deny the pending surrogate, Zetter says. “All they have to do is hit that button and it’s done.”

Then surrogates can access PECOS or electronic health records (EHR) registration and attestation, he says. They will be able to access the National Plan & Provider Enumeration System in the future.

Find out the latest about the new program at www.partbnews.com.

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