TIP: CMS Updates Nursing Home Care Compare Staffing and Quality Measures

In a Quality, Safety, and Oversight (QSO) memo released on Sept. 20, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) stated they will update the staffing level case-mix adjustment methodology and replace some of the Quality Measures (QMs) used on Nursing Home Care Compare in order to accommodate changes …

TIP: CMS Updates SLP-Related Comorbidities, Removing All Parkinson’s Disease Codes

On Sept. 18, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) added a note within the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 PDPM ICD-10 Mapping file that effectively removed several diagnosis codes from impacting the Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) component for comorbidities. CMS had previously added several Parkinson’s disease-related conditions, which mapped …

TIP: CDC to Change the NHSN Definition of “Up to Date”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will change the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) surveillance definition of “up to date” for reporting weeks beginning on Sept. 25, 2023, to align with new (pending) ACIP recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines. Once the new vaccine and new (pending) vaccination recommendations are applied …

TIP: CMS Clarified Section GG Documentation Requirement  

In late August, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the post-event question and answer (Q&A) document from the SNF MDS 3.0 RAI v1.18.11 Guidance Training Program available in the Downloads section of the SNF QRP Training webpage. This 62-page document contains responses to questions asked throughout the …

TIP: CDC Releases New Enhanced Barrier Precautions Resources

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released new resources on enhanced barrier precautions (EBPs). EBPs are recommended by the CDC to reduce the risk of transmission of multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs). These resources can assist the director of nursing services (DNS) and the infection preventionist to educate …

TIP: CMS Updates the SNF VBP Performance Score Report User Guide

The August 2023 Performance Score Reports for the FY 2024 Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing (SNF VBP) Program are now available for download via the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES). Instructions to access these reports are available on the SNF VBP webpage. These reports contain performance information for …

TIP: CMS Updates Exclusion Criteria for Administrator Turnover Data in Payroll-Based Journal

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) added administrator exclusion criteria to the PBJ public use files. The updated criteria excludes administrator data if a nursing home reports five or more administrators on four or more days during one quarter. This was applied to both the administrator turnover measure …

TIP: CMS Updated the Five-Star Administrator Turnover Exclusion Criteria

Effective with the July 2023 Five-Star refresh, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) revised the nursing-home level exclusion criteria on an erroneously high number of administrators applied to the administrator turnover measure. Previously, if a nursing home submitted Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) data and reported administrator hours (PBJ job …

TIP: Facilities Must Update ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Codes by Oct. 1, 2023

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the revised ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes for fiscal year 2024, which will become effective Oct. 1, 2023. Facility staff will need to review diagnosis codes for residents who reside in the facility through Oct. 1 to convert existing codes to the updated …