Occupational Therapy

Who Completes OASIS-C

As identified in (M0080) Discipline of Person Completing Assessment, the comprehensive assessment and OASIS data collection should be conducted by a registered nurse (RN) or any of the therapies (PT, SLP/ST, OT). An LPN/LVN, PTA, OTA, MSW, or Aide may not complete OASIS assessments,
In cases involving nursing, the RN completes the comprehensive assessment at SOC. Any discipline qualified to perform assessments – RN, PT, SLP, OT – may complete subsequent assessments. For a therapy-only case, the therapist usually conducts the comprehensive

assessment. It is acceptable for a PT or SLP to conduct and complete the comprehensive assessment at SOC. An OT may conduct and complete the assessment when the need for occupational therapy establishes program eligibility. Note: Occupational therapy alone does not establish eligibility for the Medicare home health benefit at the start of care; however, occupational therapy may establish eligibility under other programs, such as Medicaid. The Medicare home health patient who is receiving services from multiple disciplines (i.e., skilled nursing, physical therapy, and occupational therapy) during the episode of care, can retain eligibility if, over time, occupational therapy is the only remaining skilled discipline providing care. At that time, an OT can conduct OASIS assessments.

Multidisciplinary cases may have multiple points of discipline-specific discharge, though only one is the agency discharge, which must include OASIS data collection and completion of the OASIS discharge comprehensive assessment. Other non-OASIS required documentation for recertification and discharge are specified in the Home Health Services Conditions for Coverage (CfCs) & Conditions of Participations (CoPs).6 OASIS items were designed to be discipline-neutral and have been tested and validated with clinicians from various disciplines