OASIS-Central

In reference to M2250, if the patient has an antidepressant medication on the medication profile, but no symptoms per the standarized tool, can the clinician choose “No”?

Q: In reference to M2250, if the patient has an antidepressant medication on the medication profile, but no symptoms per the standardized tool, can the clinician choose “No”? A: M2250, Plan of Care Synopsis reports whether the physician-ordered plan of care includes depression interventions (including medications). The presence of an existing antidepressant medication is considered a [...]

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What do we do if our software program does not ask for onset or exacerbation?

Q: OASIS-C does not require dates of onset or exacerbation of diagnosis. However in the CMS-485, the dates of onset or exacerbation are indicated. What do we do if the software program does not ask for onset or exacerbation? A: The original instructions for completing the CMS-485 plan of care included reporting the date of onset [...]

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What is the time frame for including interventions?

Q: I believe that when answering M2400, the clinician only looks at interventions since the last OASIS. This  includes the recertification OASIS. We have many long-term stable patients under Medicaid that we are seeing monthly or sometimes more often (e.g., med prefills). In these cases, many of the interventions were done months or even years [...]

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What if the physician won’t respond to our request for confirmation?

Q: Do we need to get a verbal confirmation from the doctor’s office after start of care or can we leave a message on their voicemail that we have started with the patient and what our plan is? If it has to be a verbal confirmation, what should we do when we can’t get the [...]

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Must the plan of care include parameters for monitoring patients with chronic conditions?

Q: Must the plan of care include parameters for monitoring patients with chronic conditions? A: There is no regulatory requirement to document parameters for physician notification on the plan of care. If there is no requirement, the surveyor cannot cite the agency simply for not listing parameters on the plan of care. [...]

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What’s this I hear about having to report ICD-9 codes for the stages of pressure ulcers?

Q: What’s this I hear about having to report ICD-9 codes for the stages of pressure ulcers? A: There are now two subcategories for pressure ulcers: one to identify the site (707.00-707.09) and another to describe the stage (707.20-707.25). Follow these guidelines for reporting a pressure ulcer. • Report two codes (site) to completely describe [...]

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