Ancillary Billing Review: Why the DNS Must Lead the Financial-Clinical Conversation

Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element. As the clinical leader of the largest operational department in a skilled nursing facility, the director of nursing services (DNS), in tandem with the administrator, plays a key role in financial oversight. Ancillary charges are rooted in nursing-driven …

How to Access the Learner Dashboard, and Other AAPACN Education FAQs

More than 15,000 nursing professionals working in long-term care take AAPACN education online courses each year. One of the common questions AAPACN receives from new students is, “How can I access my Learner Dashboard?” The Learner Dashboard is the main online education hub where learners can review and start their …

Ancillary Billing Review Checklist

The director of nursing services should review ancillary billing monthly to ensure that all billed services and supplies are clinically appropriate, documented accurately, and supported by skilled nursing care. The DNS can use this Ancillary Billing Review Checklist to help confirm compliance with Medicare Part A and Part B rules, …

TIP: QIO Provides Weather Preparedness Guide for Severe Weather

The Quality Improvement Organizations (QIO) has developed a Severe Weather Preparedness Guide to help healthcare facilities prepare for and respond to severe weather events, including tornadoes, flooding, severe thunderstorms, hail, and late-season winter storms. This guide highlights key operational risks such as supply chain disruptions, utility outages, staffing shortages, and …

CMS QSO Memo: Updates to Chapters 5 and 7 of the State Operations Manual (Revised)

Memo # QSO-26-03-NH REVISED Posting Date 2026-04-03 Fiscal Year 2026 Downloads AAPACN note: Some of the key revisions in red from the memo are excerpted below. There are a number of significant changes to the chapters themselves, including a number of new definitions. Enforcement Guidance: Revises policies for Civil Money Penalties (CMP) to …

FY 2027 SNF PPS Proposed Rule

Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities; Updates to the Quality Reporting Program for Federal Fiscal Year 2027 Filed on: 04/02/2026 at 5:15 pm Scheduled Pub. Date: 04/07/2026  PDF 114 Pages (397 KB)  Permalink Fact sheet Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System Proposed …

NHSN Healthcare Personnel (HCP) Flu Vaccination Module for SNF QRP Reporting

The HCP Flu Vaccination Module, which is part of the HCP component in NHSN, is used to input required NHSN data for the SNF QRP. This site provides access to the HCP Vaccination Module: Influenza Vaccination Summary Protocol, which is the primary manual for the module. In addition, it provides …

PaltMED Ethics Toolkit

From the Introduction: “This toolkit aims to [provide] an overview of fundamental ethical principles and decision-making frameworks tailored to PALTC settings. Designed for nursing home medical directors and other members of the interdisciplinary care team, it offers practical strategies for navigating ethical challenges, supporting staff in ethical decision-making, and fostering …

MDS 3.0 Quality Measures (QM) User’s Manual v18.0 Effective Jan. 1, 2026 and Associated Files — Plus Errata

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is publishing an errata change table document to the Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 Quality Measures (QM) User’s Manual v18.0, related to the clarification of details for the Long-Stay Antipsychotic measure in Chapter 1, Section 6. This errata is being issued to …

CMS Nursing Home Data Sets Updated

Medicare Claims Quality Measures Quality measures that are based on Medicare claims data. Each row contains a specific quality measure for a specific nursing home and includes the risk-adjusted score. Last Modified: March 1, 2026 Released: March 25, 2026 Planned Update: April 29, 2026 Download Ownership A list of ownership information for currently …