Home Health & Hospice Week

Fraud case highlights important compliance aspect of OASIS. You could lose hundreds of dollars per episode if your staff fills out OASIS incorrectly, but you could lose your agency if you correct those assessments the wrong way. Case in point: Merigrace Orillo, co-owner and operator of Chalice Home Healthcare Services Inc. in Chicago, has pled guilty to a scheme that included changing OASIS forms. The changes "made Chalice's patients appear to be sicker than they actually were and in need of greater care than they actually required," says a release from Patrick Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. Orillo conducted the fraud with her husband Virgilio Orillo, the original indictment said. But he died last August. Reviewing OASIS for accuracy isn't unusual. "A number of HHAs have their OASIS forms reviewed and revised based on their understanding of better or more informed coding and regulatory knowledge," notes [...]