March 3 2025
OASIS

Is Your Agency Using OASIS Quarterly Q&As?

by Marian Essey, RN, BSN, COS-C

Soon after OASIS data collection began, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), initiated support to home health agencies to ensure OASIS accuracy. One of the longest standing supports are OASIS Q&As.

Over time, the OASIS Q&As have been formalized to what are currently the Quarterly OASIS Q&As. Currently, OASIS Quarterly Q&As typically originate from questions received through a CMS helpdesk from home health providers, vendors, and researchers. Currently, this is the Home Health Quality Help Desk – homehealthqualityquestions@cms.hhs.gov.

This help desk support has been managed by OASIS Answers for close to 20 years. Questions and answers to the helpdesk questions are vetted within CMS. Questions that have significant impact on accuracy and provide new or refined CMS guidance not found elsewhere are candidates for inclusion in the next quarterly OASIS Q&As.

The OASIS Quarterly Q&As are published in January, April, July, and October each year. Each quarterly document is available on the CMS QTSO website and are the last resource under “Reference & Manuals”.

Keeping up with the OASIS Quarterly Q&As provides agencies with the following benefits:

Up-to-Date Information: The Quarterly Q&As serve as the vehicle for CMS to update and refine OASIS guidance between publications of the OASIS Guidance Manual.
Clarification: They help clarify ambiguities or questions that agencies identify when trying to apply the OASIS guidance.
Improved Accuracy: By addressing common issues and questions, these Q&As help improve the accuracy of data collection.
Enhanced Quality of Care: Accurate and up-to-date OASIS data collection contributes to better patient outcomes and quality of care

Join Us!

Get ahead by learning the latest CMS guidance directly from the OASIS Answers experts! Our Quarterly OASIS Update webinars review any new OASIS guidance documents, CMS resources, and data set changes from the past quarter. Each 90-minute webinar coincides with CMS OASIS Quarterly Q&A releases.

For comprehensive OASIS training, attend the Blueprint for OASIS Accuracy workshop, which is regularly refreshed with the latest released OASIS guidance.