OASIS Alert

One discharge assessment in an episode should be enough.

True or False? When a patient's payer source changes from another source to Medicare during an episode, a discharge OASIS is not required.

True. OASIS regulations do not require a discharge assessment in this situation, according to a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services response to a vendor-submitted question, reports the National Association for Home Care & Hospice. "The regulations do not require an OASIS discharge assessment until the patient is truly discharged from the agency," NAHC states in its recent guidance on discharge assessment rules. But performing a "paper discharge for OASIS purposes" may help avoid warnings from HAVEN and improve outcome accuracy, NAHC suggests.