Industry Notes:
Don't Let Response-Specific Instructions Lead You Astray
Published on Tue Jan 18, 2011
Beware an error in the latest OASIS-C guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that could change when you choose "NA" for M2250 (Plan of Care Synopsis). Background: M2250a says "Does the physician-ordered plan of care include ... patientspecific parameters for notifying physician of changes in vital signs or other clinical findings"? The OASIS-C Guidance Manual's responsespecific instructions for the item tell agencies to choose "No" when the agency is using its own standardized guidelines for patient parameters when notifying physicians of patient changes. CMS updated the manual guidance in January. But agencies really should choose "NA" when using their own standardized guidelines, says the National Association for Home Care & Hospice. Two OASIS Certificate and Competency Board (OCCB) OASIS-C questions-and-answers back up the "NA" usage, NAHC tells members.