Admission nurse role improves OASIS accuracy by 17%

Client Profile:
A home care agency on the west coast with an average of 250 plus starts of care per month

Challenge:
This agency was experiencing inaccuracies in OASIS scoring due to recent clinician turnover. Agency leadership found that dedicating ample resources to thoroughly train new staff in OASIS accuracy was necessary, but beyond what their internal resources could provide at the time. This ultimately led to inaccuracies in coding, causing below average clinical and financial outcomes. After a series of reviews, the agency sought a new approach to clinician education.

Solution:
Our clinical team worked with the agency to brainstorm a unique model—an admission nurse team focused exclusively on OASIS documentation and scoring at the start of care.

Our clinical team met weekly with the agency quality assurance team to assess the results of the new model. Together, they evaluated the clinician scores and reviewed areas for improvement in OASIS scoring. Our team then met with the admission nurse team to review the side-by-side comparisons of OASIS scoring, explaining specific rationale and providing guidance to help the admissions team learn how to accurately score the OASIS items. This model fostered an interactive learning environment where clinicians shared their own patient scenarios as part of the educational experience.

Results:
The implementation of an admission nurse team proved a successful model at this agency. The admission nurse accuracy rates were much higher than other clinicians—the admission team averaged a more than 92% accuracy rate. Previously, the agency’s average accuracy rate was 75%. Before the admission nurse role, the agency often scored patients’ functional abilities inaccurately.

Making improvements to key OASIS items, like functional ability, has led to an average potential financial impact of more than $850 per record. The admissions team reports a high level of job satisfaction and looks forward to weekly educational sessions McBee continues to provide.

“The admission nurse role was very helpful in streamlining the admission process and ensuring the OASIS scores were being completed by a clinician who was knowledgeable with all the current guidelines.”

Elizabeth Brewer, Manager, McBee

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