Pharmacy Question for the Week of October 16, 2017

Question:

Does Medicare pay pharmacists for hospital professional services?

Answer:

Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement methodologies do not explicitly recognize or reimburse pharmacists for operational costs or professional services, despite the fact that these costs are significant. Under the current Medicare system, hospital-based pharmacists are not paid separately for providing patient-care services. Currently, hospitals may only bill Medicare for patient-care services provided incident-to a physician’s service.