If a patient is prescribed 3 oral medications and 1 nutritional supplement, should M1033 be checked for 5 or more medications?

For M1033, which assesses the number of medications prescribed to a patient, the count includes both prescription medications and over-the-counter medications that a patient takes regularly. In this scenario, the patient is prescribed 3 oral medications and also taking 1 nutritional supplement. In the context of OASIS-E, nutritional supplements are considered as medications, which means they should be counted alongside prescribed medications.

Therefore, when adding the 3 oral medications and the 1 nutritional supplement, the total comes to 4. Since this number is less than 5, M1033 would not be coded as "5 or more medications." This reflects the understanding that the total count includes any regular intake of nutritional supplements as part of the patient's medication regimen.

As a result, the answer is not A, and the understanding of how nutritional supplements are classified is crucial in determining the correct coding for M1033. It’s always important to refer to the definitions and guidelines provided in the OASIS-E documentation for accurate assessments.