Fazzi Associates, Inc.

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Question: I was very interested in your OASIS-C Skills Assessment Testing results from the December pre-testing session. Now that OASIS-C has been implemented and clinicians are using the tool, have you seen any changes?

We had over 6,000 clinicians from 194 agencies complete our March OASIS test. Participating agencies ranged from small rural agencies to very large home care networks. In all, over 35 states were represented.

What did we learn from this OASIS-C based testing period? The good news is that we have seen overall improvement. But, there are still similar areas of concern. Here are just a few of our discoveries:

The average clinician's score increased from 73.87% in December to 78% in March, which may mean that clinical practice with the tool is helping clinicians better understand the new assessment. Scores ranged from 37% - 100%.
Again, auditors received the highest average score (87%), followed by managers (85%), therapists (79%) and registered nurses (77%). All disciplines showed an increase in their average scores from December.
Six agencies had an average score of 90% or better (the highest scoring agency received an average score of 92.6% for all tested clinicians.) Seventy-seven agencies scored in the 80 - 90% average range (an increase from 26 agencies in December!).
(M1910) Fall Risk Assessment continued to be most frequently missed assessment item with only 38% responding correctly in the first patient scenario and 46% responding correctly in the second patient scenario. The second most frequently missed question was (M1860) Ambulation/Locomotion (only 40% responded correctly.) Both were also frequently missed in the December test.

As clinicians continue to use OASIS-C in their clinical practice, there is no doubt that even more discoveries will be unveiled. One thing is clear, while overall scores are increasing, there is still room for improvement.

What's important is that you recognize problem areas in your own agency and begin implementing a system to make improvements. OASIS-C targeted trainings, whether online or on-site, are a perfect follow up to the general overview sessions you may have have conducted last fall. You should also regularly assess your clinician skill levels on an agency-wide and individual basis to ensure that your trainings continue to target the areas where you need it most.