OASIS-Central

Q: Is a discharge OASIS required if the patient was only seen at start of care (SOC) and the patient was no longer available for a follow-up or second visit by an SN (only an SN is in the case)? A: If only one billable visit was made in a quality episode (SOC/ROC to Transfer/Discharge), [...]

Q: Can an occupational therapist open a case if there are other disciplines such as physical therapy and skilled nursing that will see the patient the next day? A: Because occupational therapy is considered an “ongoing service” by Medicare, an OT may not complete the initial assessment visit or perform the Start of Care assessment [...]

Q: How do you determine the percent of granulation on a surgical wound with staples? A: Surgical wounds closed with staples are considered to be healing by primary intention unless a portion of the wound opens or develops disruptions. Wounds that heal by primary intention do not granulate; therefore, these wounds can only have a [...]

OASIS-C data element M1012, “List each Inpatient Procedure and the associated ICD-9-CM procedure code relevant to the plan of care”, is no longer required by CMS for payment, quality measure development, or risk adjustment. An accurate response to this measure does not matter, but a response must be entered. Agency policy and private vendors may [...]

Editor’s note: When we launched OASIS-Central in late 2009, we set out to provide you with a continuous flow of relevant and timely information that would help you stay abreast of key changes, important updates and best practices all related to OASIS-C. Now there is another major change that the healthcare industry is bracing itself [...]

Stage III and IV pressure ulcers can re-epithelialize and close, but they never completely heal. That has an impact on OASIS-C reporting. Apply these pointers in documenting closed Stage III and IV pressure ulcers: Answer “yes” to M1306. The patient will always have at least one unhealed pressure ulcer at Stage II or higher. At [...]