If you thought you followed OASIS instructions, but the score you marked doesn't seem logical, should you change it? The answer may surprise you. Failing to provide the most accurate OASIS responses possible can bring your agency down, experts agree. Poor quality OASIS data has a snowball effect that impacts both quality and reimbursement, warned Linda Krulish, OASIS expert and president of Home Therapy Services in Redmond, WA, speaking at a recent teleconference sponsored by the Associated Home Health Industries of Florida. Outcome reports based on flawed data may lead you to choose the wrong targets in your outcome- based quality improvement efforts, leading to questionable results, Krulish told listeners. And reimbursement based on flawed data can lead either to underpayment and loss of profits or overpayment with potential fraud implications. Accurate data is "collected consistent with CMS scoring standards and guidelines," Krulish stressed. TIP: Don't be misled by the fact that following the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' instructions may result in a score that doesn't seem "correct or right or exact or logical," Krulish counseled. Follow the instructions anyway. Standardization is key, with the current data set as a starting point and refinements to come in the future. Krulish shared these other scoring basics:
When observing a patient perform a task, ask yourself several questions: Is the equipment the patient is using appropriate (perhaps she uses a towel bar rather than a grab bar to get into the tub)? How appropriate is the patient's technique (does she use good judgment and make good decisions)? What is the risk of injury if the patient continues to perform the task this way?