OASIS Alert

Education:

How Good Are You At Identifying Leg Ulcers?

Q: For the OASIS assessment, is an arterial skin ulcer the same as a stasis ulcer?

A: No. M0468 (Does this patient have a stasis ulcer?) specifically excludes arterial circulatory lesions or arterial ulcers. Arterial ulcers and venous stasis ulcers are distinct entities, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services questions and answers at last year's OASIS Educator's Conference in New Orleans. Check with the physician to be sure you know the root cause of the ulcer, CMS adds.

Check out this resource: The Wound Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society provides a two-page "clinical fact sheet" outlining the difference between leg ulcers caused by venous insufficiency (stasis), arterial insufficiency and peripheral neuropathy at www.wocn.org/pdf/C_QUICK1.pdf.

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