Home Health Coding and OASIS Expert

Question: Our new patient’s daughter lives in another town, but she has been staying with our patient for a few weeks. She will be leaving in a week, so there won’t be a regular caregiver in the home after that point. How should we answer M2102 — Types and Sources of Assistance for this patient?

 Answer: When answering M2102 at start of care or resumption of care, your response should be based on what is true on the day of assessment for that episode of care. So, you must select the answer that best represents the ability and willingness of caregivers to provide help in the various categories of assistance listed, for the upcoming episode of care, according to the April 2015 Quarterly OASIS Q&As from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Before selecting a response, the assessing clinician should use her clinical judgment to determine three things:

1. The type of assistance the patient will need;

2.The ability and willingness of caregivers (other than home health agency staff) to provide that assistance; and

3. How long the episode of care is expected to last.

In the scenario you describe, the assessing clinician knows that the patient’s daughter will leave in a week. So she’ll need to consider the daughter’s expected absence as well as how long your agency expects to continue providing care as she determines the appropriate response for M2102.

For example: Suppose the daughter is planning to stay and provide care for the patient for a week and the clinician expects to see the patient for five to six weeks. In this case, the assessing clinician can use her clinical judgment to determine that the daughter’s stay shouldn’t be a factor in determining her response for M2102.

On the other hand: Suppose the daughter still plans to stay and care for the patient for a week, but the patient is expected to transition to outpatient services after a week or two. In this case, the clinician may use her clinical judgment to determine that she should consider the daughter’s temporary presence when selecting a response to M2102.

Note: Read all of the April 2015 Quarterly OASIS Q&As here: www.oasisanswers.com/aboutoas_links.htm