FivekeystoOASIS‐CsuccessDeveloping effec-ve OASIS‐C prac-ces in your agency

Inthenextfiveminutes,learnfivekeystoOASIS‐Csuccess.

WALKAMILEINYOURCLINICIANS’SHOES

Are you leaving your staff out in the field alone with OASIS‐C?Considerwalkingamilein your clinicians'shoes toexperience thechallenges of OASIS‐C data collecBon firsthand, and use yourexperBse to help themwith ideas and tacBcs to make their jobseasier.

“Homehealthagencyleadersshouldgooutin the field, work alongside their staff,create a supporBve relaBonship betweenclinicians and show their staff thatleadershipiscommiIedtohelpingthemnomaIer what the challenge,” said RhondaWill,RN, BS,COS‐C, HCS‐D,Senior ClinicalConsultant and an Assistant Director ofHome Care Quality InsBtute for FazziAssociates,Inc.

“If leadership completes adischargeor transfer assessment,theywouldbe ableto get a senseofwhat isactuallyhappeningwithinthe organizaBon and experience firsthand the challenges androadblocks the clinicians endure as theyaccurately complete theprocessmeasures. It wouldallow them to beIer createor tweakexisBngoperaBonalprocessessotheclinicianhastheneeded'lookback'informaBonasefficientlyaspossibleatthoseBmepoints.”

IMPLEMENT FOCUSED AND MANAGEABLE TRAININGSTRATEGIES

BasictrainingprovidesthefoundaQonforaccuracyEducaBon on OASIS‐C’s item guidance is crucial to ensuring bothaccuratereflecBonofclinical outcomesandthepropercalculaBonofepisodepayment.

“Althoughmanyof theMitems appear familiar, the addiBon andrevisionoftheseitemscreatesaneedfornewOASIS‐Cguidanceonhowtorespondproperly,”said,KrisBR.Wheeler,RN,HCS‐D,COS‐C.

“AgencyleadersshouldmakeeducaBngadministraBveandclinicalstaffonOASIS‐Crequirementsatoppriority; clinical staffwill alsobenefit from early exposure to the integrated comprehensiveassessmentsupporBngtheseOASIS‐Crequirements.”

OngoingtrainingiscriQcaltoyoursuccessTrueathletesneverstoptrainingfor thebiggame,sowhyshouldyouragency?Createaplan to address OASIS‐C trainingaspart ofregularly scheduled meeBngs. InsBlleffecBve OASIS‐C habits into your staff’srouBne by commi\ng to educaBon as anongoingprocess.Follow up with your administraBve and

clinicalstaffa]ertheiniBalOASIS‐CtrainingbyconducBngasurveyor focus group to receive feedback and to monitor trainingeffecBveness.Evena simple three‐quesBonsurveywill likelyyieldgreat ideas for further training. Develop further training inconjuncBonwithyourQAstafftoaddressrepeatedOASIS‐Cerrors,aswell as,toreducecommonmistakesandensuremoreaccuratereimbursement.

TargetedtrainingdeepensassessmentknowledgeFollowing your iniBalOASIS‐Coverview training, focus on specificareasoftheOASIS‐Cratherthan thecompleteassessmentso thatyour staff can deepen their knowledge of each secBon of theOASIS‐Cdocument.

Since 100 percent of Medicare revenue is generated from the Outcome and Assessment Informa-on Set (OASIS), and with reimbursement cuts looming, your agency’s survival depends on its ability to report the proper OASIS‐C data items to CMS. The revised OASIS provides ample opportuni-es to make a fresh start within your agency. Set enhanced prac-ce standards for your staff for ongoing educa-on, communica-on and integrated care delivery based on the new guidelines.

The fo l lowingfivekeytacBcs f romOASIS‐Cexperts wi l l saveyouhours of Bmeas youuBl ize therev isedassessment:

TodownloadtheOASIS‐Cguidancemanual,visitwww.cms.hhs.gov/homehealthqualityinits/14_hhqioasisusermanual.asp–scrolldowntoDownloads,andselectOASIS‐CGuidanceManual.

Home health agency leaders should go out in the 3ield… and show their staff that leadership is committed to helping them no matter what the 

challenge.

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S E Q U O I A C L U B

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Consider the following ideas for breakingdown OASIS‐C trainingintomanageablepiecesofinformaBon:

• Most challenging secBons: According to Ms. Will, manyclinicians may be most challenged by the wound caresecBon and changes in the ADL assessment. Be proacBveand address these secBons early, before they become aproblemforyouragency.

• Costliest errors: Administrators, DONs and QAstaff shouldwork together to rank the most challenging and costlyOASIS‐C errors encountered in the datacollecBon process.Then,setupbrief,focused trainingson these salient issuesaffecBng paBent care and proper reimbursement. Aswithclinical wound care– aIend to themost seriousproblemsfirst. Then, once these issues are under control, you canworkthroughaddiBonaltrainingsonsmallerissues.

• Bodysystems:TargettrainingononebodysystemataBme;forexample,youragencycouldcovermentalhealthOASIS‐CitemsinonetrainingsessionbyconcentraBngspecificallyontheassessmentandintervenBonsforthatbodysystem.Thiscreatesafocusedlearningopportunityfortheclinician.

Encourageproficiencywith anOASIS‐C QpoftheweekA]er breaking down the OASIS‐C bysecBon, approach each secBon with anOASIS‐Citem‐by‐itemBpoftheweek.

“Make it the focus for the week in yourofficebypu\nguppostersorsignsinyourrestrooms,onthedoor,in the supply closet and in the break room – all the places thecliniciansfrequentwhencomingintotheoffice,”saidMs.Wheeler.“CurrentKinnseruserscanevensavetheweek’sOASIS‐CsecBonasanaIachmentandsenditinak‐mailtotheiragency’sOASISstaff.”

Integrate a mixture of techniques to yield the best results. Forexample, Web‐based meeBng services, such as GoToMeeBng orFuze MeeBng cost under $50 per month, and can significantlyreduce travel Bme for face‐to‐facemeeBngswith your staffwhilesBllprovidingqualitytrainingopportuniBes.AWeb‐basedmeeBngsystem will allow you to conduct your own internal webinars,receiveinstantfeedback,trackaIendanceandconducttestsattheendofeachtrainingsession.

HELP YOUR TEAM UNDERSTAND HOW ACCURATE DATACOLLECTIONISINYOURAGENCY’SBESTINTEREST

Nothingspeakslikedata.Agencymarketersfrequentlymaketheclaim,“YoutakebeIercareof your paBents,” but can they prove it? Physiciansand hospitalstaffaretrainedtorespondtofactsanddata.

Inordertocommunicatewithyourphysicianandhospitalclientsyoumustcollectthedatanecessarytodemonstrateresults.Askyourself:

• HoweffecBveareweatcaringforourpaBents?

• Whathealth status improvements arewedeliveringto ourpaBents?

• What are our hospital readmission rates for specificcondiBons?

Clinicians are criBcal to your agency’s success. Accurate datacollecBon ensurestheagencyis ge\ng the resources it needs torunitsoperaBonsandprovidequalitycare.CreatemoreincenBvefor physicians to sendpaBentsto your agencybydemonstraBng,

with data,your agency’s ability to providequalitycareforitspaBents.

WhatisCMSmeasuring?Many clinicians are so overwhelmed withtherevisionoftheOASISdataset that themeaning behind all the collected databecomes obscure. Everyone who uBlizesOASIS‐C should understand how CMS

interpretsthedataelements.Forexample, OASIS‐Cprovidesdataitemsnecessaryforriskadjustment.Riskadjustmentcompensates,or controls,for the potenBal influence of casemix variables,e.g.,risk factors, which may affect clinical outcomes. Clinicians mustscoreOASIS‐C items accuratelyto gain proper riskadjustment forthepaBentpopulaBontheyservice.

OASIS data items are also the means to achieve outcomemeasurement and Outcome‐Based Quality Improvement (OBQI),bywhichCMSseekstounderstand:

• AgencybestpracBces

• End‐resultoutcomes–changesinpaBenthealthstatussuchas physiologic, funcBonal, cogniBve, emoBonal, orbehavioralhealth,betweentwoormoreBmepoints

• UBlizaBonoutcomes–ananalysisofhealthcare uBlizaBonsuchashospitaladmissionandERvisits/admissions

How do your marketers prove that you take better care of your 

patients?

Finally,takeadvantageofotheronlineresourcesincluding:

• State‐basedindustryorganizaBons,suchastheHomeCareAssociaBonofFloridaatwww.ahhif.organdtheTexasAssociaBonofHomeCareatwww.tahc.org

• FazziAssociatesoffersconBnuingeducaBononOASIS‐Cavailableatwww.fazzi.com

• KinnserSo]wareofferssubscribingagenciesfreetrainingonAgencyManager’srevisedintegratedcomprehensiveassessmentinOASIS‐C.Toenrollinoneofthesefreesessions,pleasevisitwww.kinnser.com/develop/

3

FormoreinformaBononOBQIandpaBentoutcomes,youcandownloadtheCMSOutcome‐basedQualityImprovementManualathIp://www.cms.hhs.gov/HomeHealthQualityInits/16_HHQIOASISOBQI.asp

4 www.kinnser.com

IMPROVEINTERDISCIPLINARYCOMMUNICATION

CommunicaBng keypointsof clinical data,such as diagnosis andchangestotheclinicalplanofcare,ismoreessenBal thanever foraccurate compleBon of the OASIS‐C data elements. O]encommunicaBon may breakdown duringdistribuBon, e.g., clinical informaBon isprovided by the physician to one clinician,but not effecBvely shared with otherclinicians on the team. This sort ofcommunicaBon breakdown, typically aresult of busy schedules and poorlyunderstood documentaBon processes, canresultininaccuratedischargeinformaBon.

Many items in the OASIS‐C data set require clinicians to refer todocumentaBon in the clinical record for accurate compleBon. Ifyour agency is not using a so]ware soluBon to support clinicalcollaboraBon, now is the Bme to consider automaBng yourprocesses by implemenBng an electronic interdisciplinarycommunicaBonprocesswithinyouragency.

Kinnser users are able to share essenBal informaBon throughKinnser's k‐mail service; a HIPAA‐compliant messaging serviceeasilyaccessiblebyanydisciplineinvolvedin thepaBent'splan oftreatment. ImplemenBng a process that supports the ability toshare informaBon in real‐Bme, and archive communicaBon forreview, follow‐up, and accurate reporBng is key to improvingcommunicaBonwithinyourorganizaBon.

MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER WITH A STREAMLINED DATACOLLECTIONPROCESS

Areyou spendingmostof yourBmegatheringandrecordingdataonpaper,or spendingBmecaringforyourpaBents?Armyour staffwith the best tools available to capture data easily. The rightso]wareshould includeafullrangeofservicesthatcanmeetyourneedstoday,aswellasgrowwithyouinthefuture.

WhenevaluaBngso]wareopBons,askyourself,doesthisso]ware:

• UnburdenmystaffbyreducingdataentryBme?

• Provideanefficientplanofcaredevelopmentprocess?

• StreamlineQA?

• Improve communicaBon with all points of the careconBnuum by providing integrated HIPAA‐compliantmessaging?

Kinnser So]ware is helping Medicare‐cerBfied home healthagencies implement and improve theirOASIS‐Cprocesses.

“We want to enable you to thrive in anenvironment where you are learning thenew measures, regardless of yourexperience,” said Christopher Hester,KinnserSo]ware’sChiefExecuBveOfficer.

“Kinnser acts as a partner with oursubscribing agencies, fostering a seamless OASIS‐C uBlizaBonprocess. This partnership model speaks to our overall mission– improvingcollaboraBon,reducingcostsand increasingrevenueforhomehealthagenciesnaBonwide.”

A B O U T K I N N S E R S O F T W A R E I N C .

KinnserSoVware,Inc.isthecompleteonlinepointofcare,administraBveandbillinghomehealthso]waresoluBon

thatdeliversclinicalandbusinessresultsforitsclients.Hundredsofhomehealthagenciesandtherapycompanies

naBonwideuseKinnser’sSaaS(So]wareasaService)soluBonseverydaytoincreaserevenues,decreasecostsand

improvecarecollaboraBon.

FormoreinformaBonaboutthecompletehomehealthso]waresoluBon,visitwww.kinnser.com

Look for a software solution that increases collaboration and revenue 

while decreasing costs.

Todiscussyouragency’sspecificso]wareneeds,contactKinnseratsales@kinnser.comor(877)399.6538.Toscheduleademo,visitwww.kinnser.com/demo