Government and public statistics
Complying with Outpatient Rehabilitation Therapy Documentation Requirements (MLN905365)
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicare Learning Network, 2025
Read the originalRead on October 16, 2026
- What it is
- A September 2025 CMS fact sheet on the documentation that Medicare requires for outpatient physical, occupational and speech therapy. It lists the errors that Comprehensive Error Rate Testing reviews find most often and how to prevent them.
- How much weight it carries
- Official government guidance, dated September 2025. It summarises Medicare Benefit Policy Manual Chapter 15 and does not replace it, and local Medicare contractors can add requirements. Check the current manual before a billing decision.
Facts taken from this source
- Medicare outpatient therapy progress reports must be written at least once every 10 treatment days and must carry the provider's signature, professional identification and date.
“Progress reports justify medical necessity and require information like timing (at least once every 10 treatment days) and include your signature, professional identification, and date” (Page 4 of 8, Common CERT Errors)
- CMS asks therapists to document the total minutes of timed-code treatment for each treatment day, because those minutes determine the units that can be billed.
“Clearly document the total minutes for timed code treatment to support the number of units and codes billed for each treatment day” (Page 3 of 8, Common CERT Errors)