CMS in its latest quarterly OASIS Q&As provided agencies with additional clarity about GG0170P (Mobility, Picking up object).
 
In Question 7 of the April Q&As, one agency asked CMS about a patient who, prior to an injury, could pick up an object from the floor from the standing position but isn’t currently safe to do so. The agency noted that the assessing clinician determined the patient wouldn’t ever again be safe to perform the activity.
 
The safest option moving forward, according to the agency, would be having caregivers pick up objects for the patient. And the agency wanted to know whether the discharge goal in the scenario should be “09 – Not applicable” or “01 – Dependent.”
 
CMS notes that patients should be allowed to perform activities as independently as possible — as long as patients are safe to do so.
States CMS: “If helper assistance is required because patient’s performance is unsafe or of poor quality, score according to amount of assistance provided. Activities may be completed with or without assistive device(s). Use of assistive device(s) to complete an activity should not affect coding of the activity. If the assessing clinician determines that the activity of picking up an object from the floor from a standing position will not ever be appropriate for the patient to complete again, even with assistance and/or an assistance device, the discharge goal would be code 09 – Not applicable.”
 
CMS’ explanation is a good clarification and could be applied to all GG0130/GG0170 activities, states Amanda Gartner, clinical analytics manager with Overland Park, Kan.-based The Corridor Group.