Physicians' "verbal orders": who may authenticate them?

It probably isn't worth fighting this fight, so I won't, but I have to note in passing that all physicians' orders are verbal orders as long as they used words in some form or another (either written or oral), which pretty much includes everything except body language. (See, e.g., Columbia Guide to Standard American English.) But, by long-standing practice, "verbal orders" is the established phrase for orders that are spoken by the physician, typically over the telephone.

Now that the usage lesson is over, the really interesting development with verbal orders is CMS' revision this fall to the Medicare Conditions of Participation:

In a surprising development, the newly revised Medicare conditions of participation (CoP) allow nurse practitioners and physician assistants to authenticate physicians' verbal orders, says Houston attorney Nancy LeGros. The Nov. 27 final CoP regulation said that verbal orders must be signed, dated and authenticated by the ordering physician — or another practitioner responsible for the patient's care — within 48 hours. CMS stated that physician extenders can authenticate physician orders as long as physician extenders are licensed to perform the services included in the verbal order, says LeGros, who is with the law firm of Vinson & Elkins.

This tidbit came from the Dec. 18, 2006, issue of Report on Medicare Compliance. The final rule appeared in the Nov. 27 Federal Register and included this language in the Preamble (at pp. 68682-83):

Comment: One commenter requested clarification as to whether a physician assistant or nurse practitioner who has prescriptive authority under State law is allowed to co-sign a physician's order.

Response: A physician assistant or nurse practitioner may only authenticate verbal orders written by a physician or other licensed independent practitioner that they have authority to write themselves as determined by hospital policy in accordance with state law. For example, some hospitals limit who may give orders for certain types of drugs or therapies. If a physician assistant or nurse practitioner is not permitted by hospital policy to order a specific drug or therapy, he or she would not be permitted to authenticate a verbal order for such a drug or therapy. Hospitals have the flexibility to limit who may authenticate verbal orders.

In addition, a physician assistant or nurse practitioner may only authenticate verbal orders for a patient for whom they have physician delegated responsibility. Like all practitioners responsible for the care of the patient, a physician assistant or nurse[[Page 68683]]practitioner would be expected to have knowledge of the patient's hospital course, medical plan of care, condition and current status. With this knowledge, a practitioner can safely evaluate the completeness and accuracy of a verbal order.