According to Medicare Home Health Conditions of Participation (CoP), each patient must undergo a patient-specific comprehensive assessment, provided by the home health agency. This assessment should incorporate the latest OASIS items, following their language and groupings. These requirements for the comprehensive assessment and OASIS data collection apply to Medicaid and Medicare-certified home health providers in states where they must adhere to the CoPs.
OASIS data are collected for skilled Medicare and Medicaid patients at eight specific time points. The table below illustrates the OASIS data collection requirements according to each time point and their necessity for completing the comprehensive assessment.
An in-person encounter with the patient by a qualified clinician is required for all OASIS assessments except for Transfer to Inpatient Facility and Death at Home. For these two time points, only limited OASIS data is required to be collected, most of which can be obtained through a telephone call. Completion of the comprehensive assessment, including OASIS, is necessary only for time points that demand an in-person encounter with the patient.
It is important to note that for the time points listed above where OASIS is required as part of the comprehensive assessment, OASIS is not intended to represent the comprehensive assessment in and of itself. Collection of additional data beyond OASIS is required to meet the CoPs.
—
The comprehensive assessment, including OASIS, is required for all skilled Medicare, Medicaid, and managed care patients, except for those eligible for an exclusion. Exempt patients include:
- Patients under the age of 18
- Patients receiving pre- & post-partum maternity services
- Patients receiving personal care, housekeeping services, or chore services
