What is the physicians involvement for cardiac rehab?
The physician fulfills two roles in cardiac rehab. The first is direct supervision and the second is “incident-to”. “Direct Supervision”: The physician must be a) in the exercise program area and b) immediately available and accessible for an emergency at all times the exercise program is conducted. It does not require the physician be physically present in the exercise room itself. The supervision requirement would not be met by a physician who is involved in an activity (e.g. cardiac catheterization, another emergency) or is too remote from the exercise program area that would prevent him/her from being immediately available and accessible. Each provider should insure that protocols are established, posted, and verified to insure that a designated physician(s) fulfills this requirement. “Incident to”: In order to be covered under the ‘incident-to’ benefit in an outpatient hospital department, services must be furnished as an integral, although incidental part of a physician’s profess
