Sec. 766.4. Medical orders

(a) The governing authority or operator shall ensure that an order from the patient's authorized practitioner is established and documented for the health care services the agency provides to those patients who:

(1) are being actively treated by an authorized practitioner for a diagnosed health care problem;

(2) have a health care need or change in physical status requiring medical intervention; or

(3) are advanced home health aide, home health aide, or personal care services patients of a certified home health agency.

(b) For purposes of this Part, authorized practitioner shall refer to a doctor of medicine, a doctor of osteopathy, a doctor of podiatry, a licensed midwife or a nurse practitioner authorized under Federal and State law and applicable rules and regulations to provide medical care and services to the patient except as may be limited by third party contract.

(c) Such orders shall be reviewed and revised as the needs of the patient dictate but no less frequently than every six months, except where an authorized practitioner, as part of an authorization, orders personal care services for up to one year for a Medicaid patient.

(d) Medical orders shall reference all diagnoses, medications, treatments, prognoses, need for palliative care, and other pertinent patient information relevant to the agency plan of care; and

(1) shall be authenticated by an authorized practitioner within 12 months after admission to the agency; and

(2) when changes in the patient's medical orders are indicated, orders, including telephone orders, shall be authenticated by the authorized practitioner within 12 months.