OASIS Fall Reporting (J1800 & J1900)

Written By Kelly Murphy

What Counts as a Fall?

  • Unintentional change in position to ground or lower surface

  • Includes intercepted falls

  • Includes falls due to overwhelming external force

  • Does NOT include anticipated loss of balance during supervised balance training

Injury Definitions

Injury (Except Major):

Includes but is not limited to skin tears, abrasions, lacerations, superficial bruises, hematomas, and sprain; or any fall-related injury that causes the patient to complain of pain.

Major Injury:

Includes but is not limited to traumatic bone fractures, joint dislocations/subluxations, internal organ injuries, amputations, spinal cord injuries closed head injuries, and crush injuries

Important Update:
Pathologic fractures (confirmed by physician) are NOT major injuries for J1900C.

Special Scenarios

Intercepted Fall vs Falls in Balance Training

  • Patient stumbles during ambulation and therapist prevents fall → IS a fall

    • J1800 = Yes

    • J1900 = Answer per injury type

  • It was an anticipated loss of balance during therapeutic balance training→ NOT a fall

If a major injury results from a fall or intercepted fall that occurs when a clinician is intentionally challenging a patient’s balance during balance training, it would be reported as both a fall and a major injury in J1800 and J1900.

 


Kelly Murphy
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