You Think You Know But, You Have NO Idea

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In home health we all are familiar with the OASIS document, but how familiar are we really? We wish we were talking about this kind of oasis, but the OASIS-C could not be further from this beautiful place...

The OASIS-C can be cumbersome and annoying to complete. It is the cause of many headaches for home health clinicians and can sometimes even lead to a late night of documentation. It can make us feel like…

OASIS is an acronym for
                  Outcome and
                  Assessment
                  Information
                  Set
The OASIS-C is important is for payment of services and for outcome comparisons. This is why supervisors and company management care so much about the appropriate and accurate completion of this form. The OASIS generates a HHRG (home health resource group) score that will determine how much Medicare will pay for services during a 60-day certification period.  It also allows for comparison of outcomes from start of care to discharge, as well as between home health agencies.
Since the OASIS-C answers can directly affect how Medicare and other agencies view our progress and productivity with patients, it is extremely important to answer the questions appropriately. Some important things to remember when answering OASIS-C questions are:

1. Answers are based on the day of assessment and 24 hours previously, unless otherwise noted
2. Minimize the use of “Not Applicable” options
3. Use interviews, observations, and physical assessments to determine appropriate answers
4. i.e. stands for ONLY in the listed circumstances
5. e.g. stands for “for example”
6. If you aren’t sure how to appropriately answer a question ASK a co-worker or supervisor for help.

Stay tuned for more OASIS articles this month!