Section GG: Medicare Self-Care Measures

Do you work in post-acute care? If so, you address self-care and functional mobility with Medicare beneficiaries. Use this information to advocate for occupational therapy's role in care.

Section GG outcome measures are utilized in all post-acute care (PAC) settings for Medicare beneficiaries to track progress across the continuum of care.

The following Medicare PAC Assessments utilize Section GG for function and mobility-related outcome measures:

How to score Section GG’s self-care items

Occupational therapists can easily gather the majority of Section GG items during the evaluation. However, Section GG items alone cannot be used in place of a thorough occupational therapy evaluation. Additionally, OT can and should continue to assess IADLs, functional cognition, psychosocial participation, and any other areas included in a comprehensive OT evaluation.

An OT evaluation should include an occupational profile, relevant assessments, and an analysis of occupational performance. AOTA’s evaluation checklists can help you keep the CMS quality measures in mind during the evaluation.

Section GG is a standardized assessment with its own scoring system. The language does vary from typical occupational therapy terminology. Keep in mind that Section GG scoring can inform but should not change the way you document a client’s performance, establish goals, or create a plan of care.

AOTA Section GG Template

Use the AOTA Section GG Template to document the Section GG self-care and mobility items.

Advocacy for occupational therapy

OT practitioners in PAC can use Section GG to gather objective data to advocate for their role and value in PAC. This can be done with two steps:

Make sure you score the self-care items at evaluation and discharge at a minimum
Meet with the administration to advocate for OT’s role in value-based care and accurate data collection on admission and discharge.

Accurate data can facilitate accurate reimbursement in skilled nursing facilities and inpatient rehab facilities.

CMS Section GG training

To learn more, please see the CMS free Section GG training:

Video Tutorials