Home Health & Hospice Week

Even though the new OASIS data set now has received approval from the Office of Management and Budget, more changes could be coming down the pike.

That's the message from day one of the annual OASIS Coordinators Conference, sponsored by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and held April 1 through 4 in New Orleans.

For example, CMS hasn't yet decided whether to continue requiring OASIS data for non-Medicare and non-Medicaid beneficiaries, a spokesperson announced. The agency still is trying to determine whether these data are necessary to the home health agency quality improvement project.

If CMS decides the data are needed, agencies will have to continue collecting and transmitting them - if not, CMS will give agencies a break on these patients, Eli learned at the conference.

Also, the home health Technical Expert Panel continues to study ways to improve the OASIS instrument and reduce burden on agencies, another spokesperson told the group of approximately 600 conference attendees. These changes might be included in the new conditions of participation, which might be published this fall, the spokesperson said.

CMS plans to roll out in October an OASIS Web-based Training Program. CMS has been developing this program for two years as a basic educational tool about OASIS. The Web site is expected to contain 14 interactive training modules, and will also be available on CD-ROM.

Looking further down the line, come Jan. 1, 2004, agencies will have to answer the branch identification item (M0016). Branch ID numbers already have been assigned in 19 states, and will ultimately allow for branch-specific outcome reports, a spokesperson noted. However, those reports won't be a reality until early 2005.

CMS isn't asleep at the wheel on this one, though. Just last week, the agency determined that come Jan. 1, edits will be in place to reject assessments with mistakes in M0016.

Under the edits, an assessment performed by a parent agency that has branches should have "P" on M0016 since parent agencies won't receive branch IDs.

An assessment is performed by a parent agency with no branches should say "N." Otherwise, enter the 10-digit branch ID number.

CMS representatives were careful to note that the conference is not intended as a vehicle for expressing concerns about OASIS - instead, its goal is to teach the providers, regional home health intermediary representatives, quality improvement organization reps and OASIS coordinators in attendance about OASIS accuracy.

Last year saw unusually high turnover in OASIS coordinators, which makes this year's conference all the more essential, one CMS spokesperson said. CMS attributes this turnover rate to massive retirements.