A1110A — Preferred Language
Response options, how to score it, and the error that most often sends the record back. Cited to Ch. 3, Item A1110A.
How to score it
Free text — enter the language the patient primarily speaks or understands, using whatever the patient (or another available source) provides. Dash is a valid response (rare): enter it in the first box if the patient or any other available source cannot identify — or declines to identify — a preferred language. Dash indicates 'no information.'
The common error
Coding this from a fixed dropdown of common languages instead of free text. CMS's instrument prints 'Enter Code' with no printed options — a 15-option invented language list shipped here once (removed 2026-08-25, an internal defect, not a CMS-documented option set); always record the language actually reported, whichever source provided it.
Source: OASIS-E2 Guidance Manual — Ch. 3, Item A1110A. Verified 2026-04-26.
Nearby Section A items
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