Home Health Coding and OASIS Expert

Tip: Ability isn’t the only factor to consider when assessing bathing independence.

Is your agency falling into erroneous OASIS response patterns? Consider these common misconceptions — and then get the facts.

Tip: When completing any OASIS assessment, pay attention to the specific patient in front of you, advises Beth Johnson, MBA, BSN, RN, CRRN, HCS-D, HCS-O, President of Johnson, Richards & Associates, in Brighton, Mich. Don’t rely on past practices or the way you’ve always answered items.

Training tool: Ask clinicians for various scenarios they have encountered and create clarification statements around the scenarios, using reliable OASIS sources for the information, suggests Pat Jump with Rice Lake, Wis.-based Acorn’s End Training & Consulting. (See related story on above for a list of reliable sources.)

Start your training efforts off with the following examples from Jump. Each incorrect statement is paired with a clarification designed to improve OASIS accuracy.