OASIS Alert
Is Edema A Lesion? It Depends
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Question: When we looked at OASIS Question and Answer number 79 on the link from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Web site, edema is included as a skin lesion in answering M0440. Does that mean we would mark M0440 "yes" if the patient has dependent edema of the foot or ankle? Answer: Cleveland Clinic Home Care in Independence, OH submitted that same question to CMS, according to their quality outcomes manager, Sandra Wilkinson. CMS' answer clarifies that edema as a part of the medical dictionary definition of "skin lesion" does not mean that dependent edema would be a skin lesion. But other swelling could be. "In assessing for skin lesions, one should consider fluid-filled lesions (e.g. pustules) or lesions in which the swelling is directly related to a lesion on the surface (e.g. cellulitis, wheals) as warranting a 'yes' response to OASIS item M0440," CMS wrote to Wilkinson.
Note: for the latest OASIS wound Q&As go to www.qtso.com/guides/hha/cat4.pdf.
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