Status Orders

by Laura Bacak Case Management Supervisor

Do you know how to properly word a Status Order, or what Condition Code 44 is? Test your knowledge of Status Orders by taking this informative quiz!

1. Which among the following is the properly worded status order?

a. “Admit to TMCA”
b. “Admit to Dr. Jones”
c. “Admit to in-patient”
d. “Admit”

2. What is the only element NOT required for a properly written order of any kind?

a. Date
b. Time
c. Physician Signature
d. Fingerprint

3. What element is required in an observation order that is NOT required in an in-patient order?

a. Physician signature
b. Clinical reason for observation services
c. Dosing parameters
d. Physician photograph

4. Chest pain without troponin elevation is most commonly appropriate for which status?

a. In-patient
b. Surgery
c. Observation
d. Telemetry

5. Patients statused as “observation” may only be physically located in the MedOBS unit.

a. True
b. False

6. To provide observation level of care, how would the status order best be written?

a. “Observe this patient for 23 hours.”
b. “Admit and observe.”
c. “Out-patient with observation services for ______.”
d. “MedOBS.”

7. Condition Code 44 is:

a. A football play
b. Your teenager’s favorite band
c. The latest John Grisham novel
d. The process by which a Medicare patient can be moved from an in-patient to an observation or out-patient status

8. A patient receiving a cardiac cath without complications where the sheath is removed in the cath lab is appropriate for which status?

a. Outpatient
b. Inpatient
c. Observation
d. Good

9. Medicare defines the standard recovery time for a day surgery patient to be:

a. Whatever the surgeon says it should be
b. 4-6 hours
c. 4-6 minutes
d. 4-6 days

10. Why does case management ask you to change a status order?

a. We like to see that vein pop out in your forehead.
b. Gluttons for punishment.
c. The information in the medical record does not support the status ordered according to InterQual criteria.
d. We miss talking to you.

Answers:

1. C - it includes the status
2. D – if you are putting this in the chart, you are an overachiever
3. D – photo not yet required by Medicare
4. C – chest pain usually OBS until there is a definitive diagnosis
5. B – Observation status does not imply a location
6. C – Observation is an out-patient status and the medical reason for the need is required
7. D – for all I know it really could be a football play or a band
8. A
9. B – an observation order is only valid after the completion of the standard recovery time
10. C – even though we know you sometimes wonder…