Told to falsify date on OASIS. Is this legal?

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Sometimes my HHA has told me to date my OASIS visit for a date earlier than the actual date I did the assessment. Often that date is on a day I didn't work (I work only 2 days/wk). I reluctantly did this once, but have been refusing since, so they will give the visit to another RN and most of them just do it.

The DON has several reasons including no nurse available to do the SOC within the first 2 days after referral, sometimes its a recert that the office failed to schedule on time, etc. Once there was a SOC that was a missed visit, but the LVN was seeing the patient for 3 weeks. They told me to see the patient and date my SOC a month earlier. I refused to do the visit.

This sounds like falsifying documentation. Is this common? I need advice.

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Oh my goodness that sounds like blatant fraud.

This is the agency that also doesn't supply a laptop for EHR charting?

There are usually plentiful HH openings, is there a hospital based HH near you? They're not always as flexible but I'd be more confident about regulatory compliance and not committing fraud.

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Knowingly turning a blind eye, or explicitly contributing to the fraud, only leads one to constant worry of being found out with the resulting consequences. Not worth it. Move on to a different agency. And make a decision about reporting the fraud. There are consequences involved with that too, whether you choose to do so, or not.

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Goodness no way. Find new employment and report them. Agencies like that are what makes it so difficult for the ones doing it the right way!

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It's so frustrating because we know that many of the time consuming regulations and documentation requirements arose out of abuse and fraud.

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Wow backdating a month earlier?? That's crazy. I would get out while you still can if I were you.

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Yep, the same one. Thanks for the advise. I knew this wasn't right. I have put my notice in this week.

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Thank you for all the advise. I knew this was illegal and told them so but they say everyone does it. So I asked a friend that has been in Home Health for many years and she said that a lot of agencies do the same thing. Have any of you ever heard of this before I posted this?

Also, when we are told to date something differently it is always written on our schedule. It is like they aren't even trying to hide it. YESTERDAY DEC 02 I saw a recert visit in my box for 12/06/16 and a note to date it for 11/23/16. So they know it was past due as of 11/23 BUT they still are waiting to schedule it another 5 days!!! I refused and gave my 2 week notice.

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Oh my goodness that sounds like blatant fraud.

This is the agency that also doesn't supply a laptop for EHR charting?

There are usually plentiful HH openings, is there a hospital based HH near you? They're not always as flexible but I'd be more confident about regulatory compliance and not committing fraud.

Yep, the same one. Thanks for the advise. I knew this wasn't right. I have put my notice in this week.

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We never have or ask anyone to date incorrectly.

Sometimes staff don't know which date applies, for instance the date is when the event occurred, say a transfer, not when the notice was received or the transfer was actually written. Or a verbal order that was given or clearly implied but failed to be written at the time.

In HH, paperwork is often written later due to a variety of circumstances but the date something occurred is unchanged. THAT we instruct to change.

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I pray that you find a better place

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