Laboratory services regulations carry HIM implications

This is Part 1 of a two-part article on national coverage and policies for clinical diagnostic laboratory services payable under medicare Part B. Part 1 concentrates on the administrative policies. Part 2, which will appear in the October issue of the Journal, will focus on the national coverage policies developed for individual clinical diagnostic laboratory tests. For additional information regarding the new administrative policies, see the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Program Memorandum AB-02-030, which was issued to all Medicare contractors on March 5, 2002.