Function is the currency of home health: it determines the plan of care, drives the OASIS-E2 self-care and mobility items and case-mix, and supplies the most direct evidence of homebound status. A new need for assistance with transfers, a decline in the ability to manage medications, or an ill-fitting walker can each compromise safety and independence, and recognizing and addressing those changes requires nursing judgment.
The purpose of this module is to give clinicians the skilled framework and chartable language that demonstrate functional assessment, transfer-safety evaluation, equipment assessment, and caregiver training were reasonable and necessary and required the skills of a licensed nurse. It is the primary home for functional status; fall risk and hazards are cross-linked to Safety, strength and joints to Musculoskeletal, and cognition to Cognitive / Mental Status.
