COLUMBIA, S.C.--On Friday, TriCenturion released the first-quarter results of its prepayment review of K0823 power wheelchairs and said the review will continue.

In September, the Jurisdiction A/B DME Program Safeguard Contractor said a prepayment probe showed sky-high denial rates of 87.51 percent for Jurisdiction A and 93.36 percent for Jurisdiction B. (See HomeCare Monday, Sept. 24.)

For the first quarter of the review, the Charge Denial Rate was 89.75 percent for Jurisdiction A and 88.73 percent for Jurisdiction B, the DME PSC said.

TriCenturion noted the majority of the claims were denied because policy criteria weren't met or because no medical records were submitted for review.

The following were listed as the major reasons for denial:

--The physician order did not have all of the required seven elements.
--It was not documented that a reason for the physician visit was for a mobility examination.
--Functional limitations were not addressed in the face-to-face evaluation.
--Letters of attestation were submitted without supporting information from the medical record.
--Supplier-created mobility evaluation forms were submitted as a substitution for information from the medical record.
--There was no date stamp or equivalent to verify supplier receipt of the physician order within 45 days.

TriCenturion said the prepayment review will continue.