Adapted from Medicare's OASIS Guidance Manual: Include the following home health care OASIS Best Practices for completing M1910 Falls Risk Assessment:
(M1910) Has this patient had a multi-factor Falls Risk Assessment using a standardized, validated assessment tool?
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- 0 - No
- 1 - Yes, and it does not indicate a risk for falls.
- 2 - Yes, and it does indicate a risk for falls.
This question identifies whether the home health agency has assessed the patient and home environment for characteristics that place the patient at risk for falls. The multi-factor falls risk assessment must include at least one standardized, validated tool that has been scientifically tested in a population w
ith characteristics similar to that of the patient being assessed (for example, community-dwelling elders, noninstitutionalized adults with disabilities, etc.) and shown to be effective in identifying people at risk for falls; and includes a standard response scale. The standardized, validated tool must be both appropriate for the patient based on their cognitive and physical status and appropriately administered per the tool’s instructions.
CMS-recommended Assessment Strategies for M1910
- CMS does not mandate that clinicians conduct falls risk screening for all patients, nor is there a mandate for the use of a specific tool.
- This item is used to calculate process measures to capture the agency’s use of best practices following the completion of the comprehensive assessment. The best practices stated in the item are not necessarily required in the Conditions of Participation.
- For Responses 1 and 2, an agency may use a single comprehensive multi-factor falls risk assessment tool that meets the criteria as described in the item intent. Alternatively, an agency may incorporate several tools as long as one of them meets the criteria as described in the item intent. For example, a physical performance component (for example, Timed Up and Go), a medication review, review of patient history of falls, assessment of lower limb function and selected OASIS items (for example, OASIS items for cognitive status, vision, incontinence, ambulation, transferring).
- Use the scoring parameters specified in the tool to identify if a patient is at risk for falls. Select Response 1 if the standardized, validated response scale rates the patient as no-risk, low-risk, or minimal risk. Select Response 2 if the standardized, validated response scale rates the patient as anything above low/minimal-risk. If the tool does not provide various levels, but simply has a single threshold separating those “at risk” from those “not at risk,” then the patient scoring “at risk” should be scored as Response 2.
- In order to select Response 1 or 2, the falls risk assessment must be conducted by the clinician responsible for completing the comprehensive assessment during the time frame specified by CMS for completion of the assessment.
- Select Response 0 if:‒ a standardized, validated multi-factor falls risk screening was NOT conducted by the home health agency,
- a standardized, validated multi-factor falls risk screening was conducted by the home health agency but NOT during the required assessment time frame,
- a standardized, validated multi-factor falls risk screening was conducted during the assessment time frame, but NOT by the assessing clinician.
- the patient is not able to participate in tasks required to allow the completion and scoring of the standardized, validated assessment(s) that the agency chooses to utilize.
