OASIS-Central

Fall Prevention Interventions: Evidence-Based Best Practices

Evidence-based practice is defined per the Disease Management Association of America as using the best scientific evidence available to guide clinical decision-making. Investigating scientific evidence such as best practice research that is available through the National Guideline Clearinghouse Web site (www.guidelines.com) or the APTA Web site (www.apta.org) leads agencies to multiple best practice components necessary [...]

Depression Intervention and Monitoring

Guidelines for Clinicians
OASIS-C has several new items to measure processes of care. Care processes refer to the use of assessment tools (included in a comprehensive assessment) or the planning and delivery of specific clinical interventions. The question we are discussing here is M1730, which relates to screening for depression. This OASIS-C question is designed to [...]

Implementing Best Practices for Heart Failure Patients

The new OASIS-C includes new data elements that measure an agency’s process for responding to heart failure issues that are included in the cardiac status section.
These two new items, M1500 Symptoms in Heart Failure Patients, and M1510 Heart Failure Follow-up, are completed on transfer and discharge. They appear individually within a new section labeled cardiac [...]

Heart Failure Interventions: Guidelines for Clinicians

As clinicians strive for accuracy in implementing OASIS-C, they must have access to resources that will help them complete these new data elements.
The following data resources will help in answering your OASIS-C questions:

Review of the clinical record that would include physical assessment data, weight trends, and clinical tools and documentation of the heart failure patient
Chapter [...]

Q: Which multi-factor tool should we use for falls risk assessment?

Q: Which multi-factor tool should we use for fall risk assessment?
A: Home health agencies are not mandated on which fall risk assessment tool they should use. In fact, like all process elements on the OASIS-C assessment, use of a standardized tool is optional. For M1910, Fall risk assessment, if a standardized tool is used, it [...]

Measuring Best Practice Compliance

Learn how to measure best practice compliance with these tips:

Aggregate, analyze, and assess outcomes for ongoing performance improvement of new agency evidence-based processes

Develop clinician scorecards for compliance to new agency best practices

Prior to hiring of new staff:

- Job description must outline and mandate agency’s best practice policies and compliance needed

Review clinician compliance for yearly evaluation:

- [...]