OASIS-Central

Q: When a current patient has a payer change to Medicare, we have to discharge the old payer and do a new start of care with Medicare as the payer. Is a discharge OASIS required for the first admission? We aren’t really discharging the patient, only the payer.

A: If the initial payer is Medicare, Medicaid or Medicare Advantage, a discharge OASIS assessment would be required if the patient is being discharged for payment purposes. Agency policy may also require completion of OASIS assessments on non-Medicare, Medicaid or Medicare Advantage patients; although this is not a CMS requirement. Regardless of whether OASIS data elements are answered, a discharge comprehensive assessment is required on all patients in a Medicare-certified home health agency, regardless of payer source.