Frequently Asked Questions

What is the purpose of the OCCB?

The organization's goal is to encourage and promote greater reliability in OASIS data through the consistent application of guidelines provided by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

What is the Certificate for OASIS Specialist -- Clinical (COS-C) Exam?

The COS-C is a voluntary certificate examination home care clinicians may take in order to demonstrate and establish their expertise and commitment to OASIS data accuracy.

What is the purpose of the exam?

The COS-C examination will provide an opportunity for home care providers to demonstrate and establish their expertise and commitment to OASIS data accuracy. The exam provides a consistent, industry wide tool to evaluate a clinicians ability to apply CMS guidelines in the completion of OASIS as part of the comprehensive patient assessment. 

Why should a clinician take the COS-C exam?

Clinicians have long needed a way to demonstrate their level of OASIS competence. The OASIS certificate exam can impact quality and best practice by encouraging the study of CMS OASIS educational and instructional materials and increasing practitioner focus on OASIS thereby achieving consistency and continuity in data collection. Professional growth, image, and the personal challenge will make sitting for the exam an easy decision for nurses and therapists.

What does the COS-C designation mean?

The COS-C designation means that on the date of the exam, the candidate demonstrated achievement of a passing score on the COS-C exam. The exam contains items testing knowledge and application of guidelines related to CMS OASIS data collection guidance. The COS-C is not a credentialing program nor a certification program, both of which pertain to bodies of knowledge that are more constant and derived from clinical research rather than the technical and regulation-based rules that govern OASIS data collection.

Since guidelines and applications related to OASIS are dynamic, and are expected to change over time, the COS-C designation demonstrates the certificate holder's commitment to study, review, and application of CMS guidelines in OASIS data collection. The 3-year certificate retesting and renewal requirement is intended to provide periodic evaluation, encourage ongoing study, and update the currency of the designation at a reasonable time interval, recognizing that OASIS changes may occur more frequently.

It is expected the real meaning or value of the COS-C designation will evolve over time. As COS-C's demonstrate their leadership, commitment and valuable efforts in areas related to staff education, quality improvement, enhanced case mix assignment, research, and actual data collection, the true meaning and import of the COS-C will become recognized and accepted.

Why should a home care administrator support clinicians taking the exam?

Standardization of OASIS collection practices and continuity within an organization will enhance the quality improvement, public reporting, survey and reimbursement applications of the OASIS data. The COS-C exam provides home care managers with a valuable tool to aid in evaluating data collection practices in their agencies.

Why a certificate instead of a certification exam?  For those unfamiliar with competency and credentialing exams this would seem to be splitting hairs. However there is a significant difference between an exam to obtain a certificate, like the COS-C, and a professional certification, like the CWOCN, CRNI, or CAE. Certification programs evaluate understanding of a large body of knowledge within a profession, (the Oncology Certified Nurse (OCN)), or within an industry, (the Certified Home Care Executive CHCE). The OCCB recognizes that the knowledge base related to the OASIS data set, while extensive, falls short of the criteria for a certification exam.  Furthermore, OASIS is created by federal regulation and is subject to frequent revisions as CMS adapts it to fit the ever-changing environment of Medicare quality-improvement initiatives and reimbursement.

What is the CAP?

The "CAP," or Clinical Advisory Panel, is a group of expert individuals who have been invited to serve in an advisory capacity to the OCCB. The panel is made up of home care nurses and therapists, from the public and private sector, who represent a range of general and specialized knowledge related to clinical, reimbursement, regulatory, and operational applications of OASIS data collection.  The CAP has a critical role in the construction and review of the COS-C examination.  

What does the exam cover?

The two and a half hour multiple-choice exam will include questions on data collection issues related to OASIS items, time points, patient populations, and regulatory requirements.   

What resources should I use to prepare for the OASIS Exam? 
Since the examination relies solely on CMS resources as the basis for content development, successful candidates will be familiar with the content and accessibility of information located in such resources. CMS Core OASIS Documents include the OASIS Implementation Manual, Q&A's and other OASIS-related documents and are listed on the OCCB resource page.

When and where will the exam be offered?
State Partner Associations offer the exam at homecare association conferences throughout the year and at specifically scheduled dates and times.  Computer Based Testing (CBT) is offered in over 150 sites nationwide.

Who are State Partner Associations and what is their role?
State Partner Associations have signed an agreement with the OCCB to help educate providers about the OCCB and the COS-C exam, and to work with the OCCB to make the exam available within their states.

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