Creating/Uploading PCS Forms
Overview of how to create or upload PCS Forms in Roundtrip.
What is a PCS Form?
A Physician Certification Statement Form, or PCS Form, is a written attestation from a credentialed party signifying that transport by ambulance is medically necessary based on the rider’s condition at the time of transport. A credentialed party may be a Physician, Physician’s Assistant, Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Discharge Planner, or Registered Nurse.
Why is a PCS Form Needed?
Per Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) guidelines, all non-emergency ambulance level transports require a signed PCS Form. This is to verify that the transport is reasonable and medically necessary based on the patient’s condition at the time of transport. This regulation outlines when a PCS Form is needed, what documentation must be included, and which credentialed party is eligible to sign off on the form. The federal regulation regarding PCS Forms can be found here for more context (Code of Federal Regulations, §410.40, Coverage of Ambulance Services).
How Will I Know If My Organization Requires a PCS Form?
If your organization requires a PCS Form to be provided at the time of booking within Roundtrip, you’ll be asked to create or upload a PCS Form on Step 3 of the Booking Flow. This will only display on stretcher and ambulance level transports. You’ll have an option to create a PCS or upload a PCS - more on this below.
If your organization does not require a PCS Form to be provided when booking within Roundtrip, no further action will be needed at this step.
Creating a PCS Form
If you are a credentialed party, you may create a PCS Form directly within Roundtrip. Click the “Create PCS Button” to get started.
A new window will appear within Roundtrip for you to complete the PCS Form details. Complete the requested fields and click “Save Information” to continue.
Success! You’ll see a confirmation in-app to confirm your PCS Form information is saved. Once the ride is booked, the form will be created automatically in a PDF format - see more on this below.
Uploading a PCS Form
Your organization may require you to upload a copy of a PCS Form to Roundtrip if:
- You are not a credentialed party to attest to medical necessity.
- Your organization has a specific PCS Form to be completed - you may need to upload even if you are a credentialed party to attest to medical necessity.
Once you have your completed PCS Form signed and ready to upload, click “Upload PCS” to proceed.
This will open a new window to select the file for the PCS Form from your device. Click the appropriate file to be uploaded and click “Open”.
Success! You’ll see a confirmation in-app to confirm your PCS Form was uploaded. You’ll be asked to provide clinical details as to why the ambulance transport is medically necessary. Complete this field and click “Continue” to proceed through the booking flow.
Once the ride is booked, the form will be accessible on the Trip Details Page - see more on this below.
PCS Forms on Scheduled Transports
Once the ride has been booked within Roundtrip, you can download the PCS Form within the Trip Details Page for the ride. Transportation Providers can access this form as well if needed!
To locate the PCS Form, expand the “Payer” tab on the Ride Details menu.
Once expanded, click “Download” next to the PCS Form field.
Success! You’ll now be able to view a PDF version of the PCS Form.
Edits to Transports Requiring PCS Forms
It is very important to note that transports with an electronically created PCS Form in Roundtrip will update the attestation signature a ride is edited. When going through the flow to edit a ride, the electronic PCS Form will automatically update to the staff member’s signature. If the staff member editing the ride is not a credentialed party to attest to medical necessity, this can pose an issue later on. Instead, staff members should take the following precautions when editing a stretcher or ambulance transport if they are not a credentialed party:
Changing or Setting the Ride Time
If you need to change only the requested ride time, you can do so by simply clicking the “Change Ride Time” button at the top of the page.
Similarly, if the ride is a will call, you can click “Set Ride Time” to choose the specific ride time.
This will open a pop-up window for you to choose the new ride time. You can choose to set a pickup or drop-off time. Once you’re satisfied with your selection, click “Update” to save your changes and the new ride time will be set.
In either case, these options will not update the medical attestation signature on the PCS Form. No additional action is needed to correct the form.
All Other Edits
All other edits, specifically those needed through the “Edit Trip” flow, will update the medical attestation signature on the PCS Form. If you are not a credentialed party, additional steps will be needed prior to editing the ride:
First, on the “Trip Details” page, expand the tab labeled “Payer”. In this dropdown, you will see a field labeled “PCS Form”. Click “Download” next to this field to download a copy of the existing PCS Form.
This will open a PDF version of the signed PCS Form. You will need to save a copy of this form to your device before proceeding - this step may vary depending on what program your device uses to open PDF files. Once the PCS Form is saved to your device, you can proceed with editing the transport as usual by clicking the “Edit Trip” button.
In the Edit Trip Flow, make the necessary edits to the transport. On Step 3 of the Edit Trip Flow, you will need to choose to upload a PCS Form instead of using the existing electronically created form. Click “Upload PCS” and follow the steps outlined earlier in this article to upload a form. At this point, you will need to upload the PCS Form that you downloaded previously. Once this is completed and the previous form was uploaded, you can advance through the remaining steps of the Edit Trip Flow. Click “Book Trip” on Step 5 to save any changes made to the transport.
