Planning for time off over the holidays often takes coordination across the entire interdisciplinary team (IDT) to ensure processes and systems continue to operate smoothly while key players are missing. The nurse assessment coordinator (NAC) must ensure MDS assessments are in place, skilled Medicare decisions are being made appropriately, significant …
Question: Are we responsible for dental appointments (toothache) on our Medicare Part A residents or does the dentist bill the family? Answer: Dental coverage is not part of the Medicare Part A program, so the cost is also not the facility’s responsibility. In other words, there is no dental money …
Question: I understand that the diagnosis in I0020B should be listed as the principal diagnosis on the UB-04 claim; however, should the remaining diagnoses be listed in order according to the main reasons the resident is skilled how we list the codes in I8000, to include the codes that are …
Policies and procedures are essential to the operation of your organization because they provide written structure and clarity for employees and inform all staff of the expectations for how to go about the work they do. Survey agencies review a facility’s policies and procedures as part of their investigation to …
Question: This situation seems to be happening at my facility more and more. When residents pass away at the facility and do not have a funeral home listed, how long (hours) are we able to keep the body? I have family members who seem to think that they can call …
Participants will learn to explain the dangers of the flu virus for residents and how it’s transmitted, understand your role in daily surveillance for flu symptoms, and understand what action to take to prevent an outbreak of the flu. Download now.
By Emily Royalty-Bachelor Care conferences: maybe you’re familiar with them. Maybe you even attend them on a regular basis. But are you confident that your care conferences are meeting their intended purposes and making good use of everyone’s time? Here are some important details you need to know about hosting your …
As a screening tool to identify potential weight problems for adults, body mass index (BMI) has always been important to document, but it gained new importance as a reimbursement factor for Medicare Part A residents under the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM). Here’s what nurse assessment coordinators (NACs) need to know …
The care plan should reflect a resident’s goals for health and wellness, and what the clinical team is doing to help the resident achieve those goals. AAPACN’s §483.21 Comprehensive Person-Centered Care Planning Cheat Sheet provides the DNS with an overview of the required components of the care plan, including the …
The nurse assessment coordinator and team members can easily convert the case-mix groups achieved under the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) to the five-digit Medicare billing code by using the PDPM Case-Mix Group Conversion to HIPPS Characters tool. For permission to use or reproduce this tool in full or in …
