Section GG of the OASIS will have a significant impact on all home health agencies through the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model.
The GG items were originally taken from the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Assessment and have been included in the OASIS document for several years. Initially, it was thought that the GG items would replace the 1800 section; however, the 1800s are staying for now as they directly affect outcome measures in the Home Health Quality Reporting Program (HH QRP) and play a crucial role in determining our payment through the HIPPS code calculation.
GG0130 and GG0170 will fully replace the 1800s, morphing into what will be known as the Discharge Function Score. This new score will take the place of the Total Normalized Composite (TNC) change measures for self-care and mobility that were based on the 1800s.
At the Start of Care (SOC) or Resumption of Care (ROC), the GG item calculation will use those responses in the Discharge Function Score algorithm that will then determine the expected discharge status of your patient based on the responses provided at the SOC or ROC.
When a patient is discharged, the responses on the discharge OASIS will be compared to the Expected Discharge Status calculated by the algorithm. If the Observed Discharge Status on the OASIS matches or exceeds the Expected Discharge Score from the algorithm, it will result in a positive outcome.
It has been somewhat overwhelming for agencies to grasp how impactful these items will become in just a few months. It’s even more of a reality check to realize that you have patients on service today, in August 2024, who will be discharged in January 2025 or later. The discharge OASIS for these patients will be compared to the Starts of Care and Resumptions of Care, which some of you may have already completed, to calculate the outcome.