Home Health News

In Episode Two of “Home Health Survivor,” Debbie Costello, Director of Quality and Safety, and Pat Burke, Director of Clinical Services and Operations for Caritas Home Health Care in Norwood, Massachusetts, explained that their OASIS-C training program began last March. If your agency is as forward-thinking as theirs, you may not need the rest of this article. If not, here is a quick survey of some of the OASIS-C training opportunities that came to our attention during the past month.

One note to those who began early and anticipate being finished with all necessary training by December 31. Another point made quite strongly by panelists on the above-mentioned video program, available at homehealthsurvivor.com, is that CMS has a proud history of modifying its “final” rules up to and even beyond its own deadlines. It is possible you have been training all year and will still have to provide more. Perhaps this list will help.

CMS

For those who were unable to attend the December 8 CMS OASIS-C conference call, featuring training by Ms. Angela Richard of the University of Colorado at Denver and Dr. Elizabeth Madigan from Case Western Reserve University, a transcript of the call will be available next week at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/HomeHealthQualityInits. Ms. Richard and Dr. Madigan are members of the clinical team assisting CMS with the development and refinement of OASIS-C. Representatives of the Iowa Foundation for Medical Care (IFMC) were also present on the call to review upcoming changes to the way agencies login to the OASIS Submission System and CASPER Reporting.

Healthcare Provider Solutions

www.healthcareprovidersolutions.com

CEO Melinda Gaboury, CPA has been offering a two-day training session through state home care associations for several months. She will continue visiting states in person and will soon commit the program to video, which will be available in an on-demand, streaming format that will be available 24/7.
Check with
your state association or contact Healthcare Provider Solutions for Melinda’s schedule of appearances, video information and pricing. Here is her description of HPS’s OASIS-C workshop.

This two-day, hands-on workshop is appropriate for coders and transmission clerks as well as field clinicians. It examines numerous aspects of the OASIS-C process in detail. The opening session reviews administrative process changes that will be required to be effective with OASIS-C, such as revamping intake forms, reporting M0110 and defining a correction policy. The remaining Day 1 sessions review OASIS-C section by section and offer specific instructions for completing each item based on the OASIS-C Guidance Manual and the CMS Q&A publications.

Day 2 is specific to the OASIS-C reimbursement impact. We examine adjustments that can be quite painful in the PPS system and the often overlooked impact of clinical decisions on reimbursement. We spend time on reimbursement issues as well as clinical reporting. New OASIS “M” items that impact reimbursement are scrutinized and helpful assessment strategies offered.
Since Non-Routine Supply reimbursement is defined by OASIS-C answers, we dedicate an entire session to the NRS calculation, reimbursement, orders requirements, etc.

RBC Limited Healthcare & Management Consultants

http://www.rbclimited.com/OASISCSeries_RBCBrochure.pdf

CEO Barbara Citarella, RN, and senior consultant Patricia Tulloch, RN, BSN, MSN, HCS-D, have created four 60-minute programs that can be viewed online or purchased on DVD. Cost for the entire series is $716 for unlimited staff access. C.E. credits are available for webcast participation but not via the DVD format. Trish Tulloch will respond to viewer questions by email.

Part 1: OASIS-C Overview and Item Crosswalks

Part 2: Risk Assessments & Vital Risk Assessment OASIS Items

Part 3: Home Health Resource Group OASIS-C Items

Part 4: Capturing OASIS-C Assessment Items & Quality Outcomes (available 12/17)

Briggs

https://shop.briggscorp.com/oasisc

In addition to the point-of-care software on which we reported in August (HCTR Product Review: Briggs Goes Electronic with New OASIS Offering, 8/17/09) the Iowa forms designer is branching out into online training systems, using technology from Phasient, which combines on-screen slide shows with voice presentations. “Briggs® OASIS-C Online Training” is an 11-section, seven-hour training course. It includes post-tests and management reports of employee scores and progress through the course. One interesting innovation is the inclusion of pre-tests, intended to allow staff to test out of modules they already know and to compare their own pre- and post-section knowledge.

In the online demonstration conducted for HCTR, the system came across as easy to use and the professional voice reading the script sounded as though she understood the content. Many of these voice actors come across stilted and either over- or under-rehearsed, with multiple mispronounced words. Briggs and Phasient did not succumb to that problem.

“Briggs® OASIS-C Online Training” uses novel approach to testing that may work well. With each multiple choice selection, the system immediately responds with confirmation of a correct answer or explanation of an incorrect one. Unfortunately, however, users who fail a test and must review the course and re-take the test are presented with the exact same questions, making it difficult to know whether they mastered the material or merely learned the test. Other systems we have seen randomly select 10 questions from a list of 20 or 30 each time the test is dynamically built and presented.

Other than that minor weakness, “Briggs® OASIS-C Online Training” appears at first glance to be an effective training tool. It appears the longtime home care and long term care forms leader will successfully branch out into a new market. Pricing is for either a six-month or twelve-month subscription and decreases with volume. A one-year subscription for one person is $199 but can fall as low as $45 when purchased in multi-site packages.

The Corridor Group

http://corridorgroup.com/store/catalog.aspx?id=11

http://corridorgroup.com/oasis-c.html

Kathy Dodd’s office sent us the following description of TCG’s multi-media approach.

1. “OASIS-C: Introducing the Changes” is a CD containing the CHEX eLearning course and a post-test. It sells for $299 and can be passed from employee to employee.
2. “OASIS-C: Webinar Series” was a 4-part online course that ran from September to December. Each session emphasized different OASIS sections and presented CMS’s official guidance for problematic and new items. Handouts and recordings of the webinars are available on CD for $359. No C.E.s are provided.
3. “CHEX eLearning” is web-based training that includes several OASIS-C updated courses that can be accessed on-demand. Training packages are priced differently based on agency size, length of contract and agency needs.
4. “Home Health Quickflips” is a spiral-bound paperback offering a handy, portable reference guide for clinicians to carry with them. OASIS-C revisions were added in November. The books are ordered in bundles of four for $99.95.

Beacon Health

Diane Omdahl, RN, MS has produced a series of CD recordings of her fall 2009 audio conferences, titled “OASIS-C: What You Must Do Now.” A brochure is available for download from: http://www.beaconhealth.org/audio_conferences.php.

The course consists of these four session titles and summaries:

1. Overview of OASIS-C and Best Practices. This session introduces OASIS-C and explains why developing agency-specific best practices is essential for success.
2. Analysis of Redesigned OASIS-C Data Elements. Session 2 introduces strategies to complete OASIS-B1 data elements that have been modified and those that carry a new number; long-overdue changes in diagnoses and emergent care; revisions and new issues related to pressure ulcers, wounds, caregiving arrangements, and ADL; and EBP—vaccinations, heart failure, and pressure ulcers.
3. The Good and Bad about New OASIS-C Data Elements. Some of the more than 30 new data elements present great risk to an agency. Session 3 explores both agreeable and contentious issues found in OASIS-C.
4. OASIS-C and the Agency’s Operations. What your agency should and should not do about data elements that focus on the plan of care and physician-ordered interventions. Also, best practices and a strategy for developing a plan to meet the January 1 deadline.

Healthcare Synergy

www.healthcaresynergy.com

The Southern California software vendor completed a series of training sessions, featuring Theresa Hamilton, president of Home Health Nurse Consultants, Chicago, in late November. Though plans are not set yet, Healthcare Synergy’s Jude Mercado informed us he is in negotiations with Ms. Hamilton to schedule a follow-up series after the first of the year. The price for the original series was $125 for two days for customers of the company’s software system.

Med-Pass

www.med-pass.com

The Ohio-based forms supplier has partnered with Lisa Selman-Holman, RN, JD, to update its “Ultimate OASIS Training Program” with OASIS-C changes. The 9-part program is not specifically OASIS-C training but includes updated OASIS-C material within the context of a complete OASIS course. Pricing is by subscription, either six or twelve months, ranging from $599 per site to $895 per site. Lacking an online ordering system, Med-Pass offers a downloadable form that you fill out and fax to them to start your subscription.