What is the type of supervision required for a service to be billed incident-to?

For a service to be billed as incident-to, it is crucial that the supervision provided is direct supervision. This means that the physician must be present in the office suite and immediately available to provide assistance and direction as needed when the clinical service is being performed by the non-physician provider, such as a nurse practitioner or physician assistant.

Direct supervision is essential because it ensures that the billing physician can oversee the service being rendered and can step in if necessary, which is a fundamental requirement for incident-to billing. The service must be an integral part of the physician's ongoing care for the patient, and the presence of the physician is what allows for the appropriate billing under this stipulation.

While general supervision allows the non-physician provider to work independently, it does not meet the criteria for incident-to billing since the physician's immediate involvement is absent. Personal supervision, typically a more stringent standard requiring the physician to be in the same room during the service, is not a requirement for incident-to. Lastly, stating that no supervision is necessary contradicts the very principle of incident-to billing, where the relationship between the physician and the non-physician provider is central to the billing process.