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Medicare & Resident Supervision in the Operating Room

Residents are physicians who have finished medical school and the required internships and are now training for a particular area of specialization. Surgical residents learn skills through observation and clinical practice in the operating room (OR).

  1. Medicare

    • Medicare provides payment for surgical services provided by residents through their direct Graduate Medical Education (GME) or Indirect Medical Education (IME) programs.

    Payment Requirements

    • Medicare will only pay for surgical services provided by residents if the procedure falls under the scope of the approved training program of their specialty. The teaching physician must be physically present while the procedure is performed by the resident.

    Documentation

    • Medicare payment requires supporting documentation by the resident providing the surgical services as well as the teaching physician who is responsible for supervising the provision of the services. The documentation must state that the teaching physician was physically present during the procedure and that the intervention was medically necessary.

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