The 48-hour rule: the physician notice and its proof

What the rule says

FS 400.506(6)(b) requires the registry to send written notification to the attending physician within 48 hours after a contract is concluded when referring a CNA or HHA. The statute requires written notification; it does not make fax the only channel.

The classic mistake: the notice without its proof

If using fax, retain the notice and transmission report with its date, time and outcome. A failed transmission needs follow-up; a filed document alone does not establish that it was sent.

Check the deadline from the conclusion of the contract, not the start of service. Keep that date alongside the transmission evidence so both can be reviewed.

How to document it without gaps

• The Physician Notice of Service with its date and the office’s signature, filed in the patient’s record.
• The fax transmission confirmation — the report sheet with date and time — filed next to the notice, not in a separate drawer.
• The sending date, checked against the conclusion of the contract: within 48 hours.
• Verify uncertain dates from scans before using them to check the deadline.

How Leymax Records watches it

In Records, you can organize the notice and its confirmation in the patient record. Keep both documents and check the deadline from the conclusion of the contract; an uploaded file does not replace verification of the transmission.

Official sources

• Florida 400.506(6)(b): written physician notification ↗