OASIS Start of Care (SOC) Documentation Templates Medicare-Defensible Skilled Nursing & Homebound Narratives The Start of Care visit sets the foundation for the entire home health episode. It determines whether services are approved, defended, and sustained under Medicare guidelines. Yet many nurses are never taught how to write the narrative documentation that supports OASIS responses, skilled need, and homebound status. This book was created to fill that gap. OASIS Start of Care (SOC) Documentation Templates is part of the OASIS Documentation Templates for Home Health RNs series, a practical reference collection designed to help nurses chart clearly, consistently, and defensibly across all phases of care. This SOC-specific volume focuses exclusively on Start of Care documentation, providing ready-to-use narrative templates that align with how Medicare reviewers evaluate eligibility, skilled nursing necessity, and risk. Inside this book, you’ll find: Medicare-defensible SOC narrative templates tied to skilled nursing need - Homebound status language that clearly supports eligibility - Baseline condition and risk-based documentation frameworks - SOC wording that supports OASIS responses without copying OASIS questions - Clear escalation and provider-notification language appropriate for SOC - Audit-aware phrasing designed to withstand medical review These templates are not checklists and they are not generic charting phrases. They are written to reflect real Start of Care assessments, clinical reasoning, and the level of detail Medicare expects when approving and maintaining services. This book is intended for use only at Start of Care visits. Ongoing visit documentation, skilled interventions, and patient education narratives are covered in separate companion titles within the series. Whether you are new to home health or an experienced RN looking to tighten your SOC documentation, this guide provides structure, clarity, and confidence for one of the most important visits you perform. Part of the OASIS Documentation Templates for Home Health RNs series.