what is oasis in healthcare

The Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) is a group of standard data elements developed, tested, and refined over the past two decades through an extensive research and demonstration program funded largely by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the New York State Department of Health. OASIS is a tool that CMS uses to collect certain information from home health providers licensed with Medicare with each episode that home health agencies (HHAs) have with a Medicare patient. The OASIS data elements are designed to enable systematic comparative measurement of home health care patient outcomes at two points in time in adult skilled Medicare and Medicaid, non-maternity home health care patients. OASIS data is collected by a home care clinician (e.g., nurse or therapist) via direct observation and interview of the care recipient and/or caregiver. The OASIS was not intended to be a comprehensive assessment instrument. Instead, OASIS data items are collected at start of care, 60-day follow-ups, and discharge (and surrounding an inpatient-facility stay) and are incorporated into a comprehensive patient assessment. The OASIS is used to collect and report quality data to CMS, determine reimbursement, and measure quality.