CMS Spotlight: Updates August 08, 2017, Effective January 1, 2018: COP: Comprehensive Assessment

One Clinician Rule

Based on feedback from home health stakeholders, and to better align with assessment practices in other Post-Acute Care settings, we have modified the current home care guidance related to the one clinician convention. As required by the Conditions of Participation, the Comprehensive Assessment will continue to be the responsibility of one clinician. However, effective January 1, 2018, the assessing clinician will be allowed to elicit feedback from other agency staff, or order to complete any or all OASIS items integrated within the Comprehensive Assessment.

Again, this new guidance will go into effect January 1, 2018, and at the time should be considered to supersede all previously published guidance related to application of the one clinician convention. Additional clarification is available in Chapter 1 of the 2018 OASIS Guidance Manual.

If providers have questions after reviewing the guidance manual instruction, questions may be submitted to the home health quality help desk at homehealthqualityquestions@cms.hhs.gov.

For the rest of the article:

https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/HomeHealthQualityInits/HHQISpotlight.html