OASIS Alert

Check your assumptions about oxygen use.

OASIS item M1410 -- Respiratory Treatments utilized at home asks whether your patient is using oxygen, a ventilator, or continuous/bi-level positive airway pressure. How would you respond to this item in the following scenarios?

Scenario 1: Your patient has a new inhaler for asthma treatment. You are teaching about the new inhaler. How would you answer M1410 for this patient?

Answer: Nebulizers or inhalers are not included in this item, and should not be considered when answering, says Ann Giles, RN, BSN, HCS-D, COS-C, director of ICD-9 coding and OASIS review services with Biloxi, Miss.-based PPS Plus Software. For this patient, report 4 -- None of the above.

Scenario 2: Your patient is on a ventilator. How would you answer M1410 for this patient?

Answer: Not every patient on a ventilator is also receiving oxygen, so consider those two items independently of one another, Giles says. It's possible for a patient to be on a ventilator for respiratory assistance, without oxygen being delivered through those lines, she says. So, while you will always report 2 -- Ventilator (continually or at night) when your patient meets this criteria, you shouldn't automatically report 1 -- Oxygen (intermittent or continuous). Consider However, if your patient uses supplemental oxygen with the ventilator, you can mark both "1" and "2."

Scenario 3: Your patient was ordered to use oxygen intermittently but never used it. How would you answer M1410 for this patient?

Answer: On the day of the assessment, if oxygen is ordered to be used intermittently and the patient has not experienced the need to utilize the oxygen, it's not appropriate to report "1" for this patient, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' OASIS Q&As.