The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has clarified the requirement to code O0100M, Isolation or Quarantine for Active Infectious Disease, on the Minimum Data Set, version 3.0 (MDS 3.0) as the following:

Code only when the resident requires strict isolation or quarantine alone in a separate room because of active infection (i.e., symptomatic and/or have a positive test and are in the contagious stage) with a communicable disease, in an attempt to prevent spread of illness. Do not code this item if the resident only has a historyof infectious disease (e.g., MRSA or C-Diff with no active symptoms), but facility policy requires cohorting of similar infectious disease conditions. Do not code this item if the "isolation" primarily consists of body/fluid precautions, because these types of precautions apply to everyone.

Additional information related to types of precautions: Transmission-Based Precautions must be considered regarding the type and clinical presentation related to the specific communicable disease. The three types of transmission-based precautions are contact, droplet, and airborne. More information related to the types of transmission-based precautions can be found in the 2007 Guideline for Isolation Precautions: Preventing Transmission of Infectious Agents in Healthcare Settings http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/pdf/guidelines/Isolation2007.pdf.

Harmony Healthcarehas received many questions regarding whether or not residents with specific conditions are eligible for coding Isolation in Section O. There are key issues to focus on when determining whether or not to code this item on the MDS. First, the interdisciplinary staff, especially the infection control specialist and the attending physician, need to document why the resident requires strict isolation in a private room. One thing to consider is whether or not the resident's needs could be met in a semi-private room. If the resident's needs could be met in a clinically appropriate way in a semi-private room, Harmony suggests that isolation not be coded on the MDS 3.0.

Prepared by: Jen Pettis, RN, WCC, RAC-MT 

Click here to download Chapter 3, Section O of the MDS 3.0 RAI Manual https://www.cms.gov/NursingHomeQualityInits/45_NHQIMDS30TrainingMaterials.asp