OIG: CMS’s Processes Didn’t Ensure Accuracy of PBJ-Reported Staffing Data

Report number: A-09-24-02005 Report Materials Why OIG Did This Audit What OIG Found Not all nursing homes’ RN staffing hours reported in CMS’s PBJ were supported in accordance with Federal requirements. On the basis of our sample results, we estimated for our sampling frame that for March 2024 nursing homes …

Navigating Drug Regimen Review on the MDS: Clinical Judgment Is Key

Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element. The ability to identify and act upon potential or actual clinically significant medication issues drives the coding of N2001 (Drug Regimen Review) and its companion item N2003 (Medication Follow-Up) on the PPS 5-Day MDS, as well as N2005 …

Practice Makes Perfect: Get Nursing Staff Locked in for Positive Surveyor Interactions

Resident care observations and staff interviews are both core components of the long-term care survey process, so surveyors have multiple opportunities to interact with all levels of nursing staff, says Denise Winzeler, BSN, RN, LNHA, DNS-MT, QCP-MT, NHA-MT, director of education and certification strategy for AAPACN. “Teaching staff the survey …

Don’t Short-Change Significant Correction MDSs: Learn When and Why to Do Them

Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element. The OBRA Significant Correction to Prior Assessment (SCPA), which includes the Significant Correction to Prior Quarterly Assessment and the Significant Correction to Prior Comprehensive Assessment, is one of the most misunderstood parts of the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) …

CMS Maps Out Four Years of Big Changes and Forecasts Even More

Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element. In the Medicare Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System (SNF PPS) and Consolidated Billing Proposed Rule for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027, officially published on April 7, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposes some earth-shaking …

Falls MDS Coding: Why the DNS Should Get Involved—and How to Do It

Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element. In September 2025, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) rang the alarm bell on MDS coding inaccuracies involving falls with major injury, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) took actions that every director of nursing …

CMS Maps Out Four Years of Big Changes and Forecasts Even More

Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element. In the Medicare Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System (SNF PPS) and Consolidated Billing Proposed Rule for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027, officially published on April 7, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposes some earth-shaking …

Three iQIES Reports That the NAC Should Review Regularly for the SNF QRP

Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element. Under the Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program (SNF QRP), SNFs must meet an annual 90 percent MDS submission threshold to help avoid a 2 percent cut in their annual payment update (APU) in the applicable fiscal year …

Keys to Coding IV Fluids on the MDS for Hydration Clinics and Beyond

Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element. Once uncommon outside of hospitals and outpatient surgery centers, intravenous (IV) hydration has gone mainstream. Average Americans often seek IV hydration through hydration wellness spas and mobile IV clinics to achieve a variety of wellness goals, says Maureen …

Nurse Leaders: It’s Time to Take on the Role of Data Detective

Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element. While the director of nursing services (DNS) and other nurse leaders should keep residents at the heart of every decision, data should provide the framework for those decisions to help residents achieve the best possible quality of care …