OASIS-Central

Is a transfer/discharge assessment required if the follow-up was completed in the five-day window?

Q: Is a transfer/discharge assessment required if the follow-up was completed in the five-day window and the patient goes into the hospital, following the completion of the recertification, also within the same five-day window? A: A transfer assessment would be required if the patient was admitted to an inpatient facility for a period of 24 hours [...]

Continue reading...

How should we handle a patient who scored three or more points on the PHQ-2?

Q: If we don’t have a mental health team, how should we handle a patient who scores three or more points on the PHQ-2 depression screen? A: According to the National Institute of Mental Health, depression in the elderly is a common problem. It’s likely that every agency will encounter patients who meet the criteria [...]

Continue reading...

Depression Screening in OASIS-C

CMS implemented the depression screening process measure because it believed that depression was being underdiagnosed in elderly patients and that addressing it would support improvement in other patient outcomes. According to CMS, depression can affect a patient’s ability to “learn and perform self-care skills necessary to remain in the home.” By including a depression screening [...]

Continue reading...

Flu/Pneumonia Vaccinations: Screening and Assessment

The following are best practice guidelines for the screening and assessment of flu or pneumococcal pneumonia in homecare patients: • Starting in September, have your flu champion implement a training program that will instruct clinicians to educate patients about the importance of the flu vaccine. Be sure clinicians understand that many patients will refuse immunization due to [...]

Continue reading...

Policy Pointers for OASIS-C and Heart Failure Patients

OASIS-C includes two data elements addressing the status of patients with a diagnosis of heart failure: • M1500, symptoms in heart failure patients asks if the patient exhibited symptoms • M1510 heart failure follow-up, targets the actions an agency takes, from no action to actively obtaining orders for changes in the care plan. The need to measure homecare [...]

Continue reading...

Is the Missouri Alliance Multifactor Fall Risk Assessment tool considered “standardized”?

Q: Is the Missouri Alliance Multifactor Fall Risk Assessment considered a “standardized tool” for use in the new OASIS C data collection tool? A: While the tool was listed on the MedQIC website, The NAHC report released a CMS response on 12/17/09, which indicated that the Missouri tool did not meet the requirements for validation. [...]

Continue reading...