Five standards are contained in the Comprehensive Assessment COP

Oct. 6, 2010 - PRLog -- # Update of the Comprehensive Assessment: The comprehensive assessment must be completed in a timely manner, consistent with the patient’s immediate needs, but no later than five calendar days after the start of care.

# Drug Regimen Review: Under this requirement, the comprehensive assessment must include a review of all medications the patient is currently using to identify any potential adverse effects and drug reactions, including ineffective drug therapy, significant side effects and drug interactions, duplicate drug therapy, and noncompliance with drug therapy.

# Completion of the Comprehensive Assessment: The comprehensive assessment, which includes OASIS items for Medicare and Medicaid patients, must be updated and revised as frequently as the patient’s condition requires, but not less frequently than every 60 days beginning with the start of care date; within 48 hours of the patient’s return home from an inpatient facility stay of 24 hours or more for any reason except diagnostic testing; and at discharge. Follow-up assessments must be completed every 60 days that a patient is under care. For Medicare and Medicaid patients, when a follow-up assessment is due, it must be completed no earlier than four calendar days before, and no later than the day marking the end of the 60-day period (i.e., day 56 through day 60 of the period).

# Initial Assessment Visit: This visit is conducted within 48 hours of referral or within 48 hours of a patient’s return home from an inpatient stay, or on the physician-ordered start of care date. The initial assessment visit must be conducted by a registered nurse unless rehabilitation therapy services are the only services ordered by the physician. Under the Medicare home health benefit, any one of three services (skilled nursing, physical therapy, or speech-language pathology) can establish program eligibility.

# Incorporation of the OASIS Data Set: OASIS must be incorporated into the HHA’s own assessment, exactly as written. The data set comprises items that are a necessary part of a complete comprehensive assessment and that are essential to uniformly and consistently measure patient outcomes.

Please visit http://wilsoneducational.com for more information.

# # #

Wilson Educational & Consultancy Services offers Home Health Nurse & Administrators Continuing Education Courses including the required Texas CE’s through workshops & training. Wilson Educational & Consultancy Services also provides organizations with specialized home healthcare agency coding services.