OASIS Alert

A: Therapists should not be making the first visit in a case where there are orders for nursing, advises occupational therapist Carol Siebert, with the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC. In these cases the nurse must make the initial visit before the therapist does. The nurse also must do the comprehensive assessment though not necessarily on the initial visit, says Siebert, who chairs the Home and Community Health section of the American Occupational Therapy Association. The requirements are spelled out in 42 CFR 484.55 (a)(1) and (b)(2), she cites.