The authorization number is given to the referred physician. If a patient's plan requires it, the patient is given a referral number and a referral document, which is a written request for the medical service. The patient is usually responsible for bringing these items to the encounter with the specialist.HIPAA X12 837 transaction sent to a secondary or tertiary payer. The Coordination of Benefits guidelines ensure that when a patient has more than one policy, maximum appropriate benefits are paid, but without duplication. Under the law, to protect the insurance companies, if the patient has signed an assignment of benefits statement, the provider is responsible for reporting any additional insurance coverage to the primary payer.
