Every month, AAPACN experts design tools that help our members perform their jobs with more ease, breaking down processes, synthesizing information, and aiding in ways to track required data. To help directors of nursing services (DNSs) easily find what they need fast, AAPACN has put together the following list of …
Empower the whole team with this quick-reference guide designed to build confidence and readiness for the survey process. Survey 101: What Every Staff Member Should Know provides all team members—from nursing to housekeeping—with a clear, high-level overview of how surveys work, how residents are selected for review, and how to …
Respiratory therapy, coded at O0390D and O0400D, must meet definitions and complex instructions per the Long-Term Care Facility Resident Assessment Instrument 3.0 User’s Manual (RAI User’s Manual). AAPACN’s Respiratory Therapy MDS Coding Checklist tool delineates the requirements to validate that all required aspects have been met before coding the Minimum Data Set …
AAPACN’s QAPI Focus: Section GG tool can be used at quality assurance and performance improvement (QAPI) meetings to focus specifically on concerns regarding section GG documentation and coding accuracy. This tool identifies specific section GG key performance indicators (KPIs) that can be used to demonstrate progress toward a data-driven proactive …
What does it take to be a successful DNS? AAPACN’s Body of Knowledge for the Role of Director of Nursing Services in Long-Term Care identifies, defines, and measures the core competencies required of DNSs practicing in SNFs. Review the tool and assess how you measure up today!
When a resident’s condition changes during the Medicare Part A stay, the facility team must decide if an Interim Payment Assessment (IPA) is indicated. The AAPACN IPA Quick Calculator interactive tool can help the team analyze the changes in HIPPS codes, case-mix groups, case-mix indexes, and rates. Two tools are …
The PDPM At-a-Glance tool breaks down the complex methodology of each component used in the Patient-Driven Payment Model—physical therapy (PT), occupational therapy (OT), speech-language pathology (SLP), non-therapy ancillaries (NTA), and nursing. This tool provides key payment information organized to provide the nurse assessment coordinator (NAC) with quick access to understanding …
The strict coding criteria for O0110M1, Isolation or quarantine for active infectious disease, requires precise documentation to support the MDS. AAPACN’s new Documentation Template: Isolation for Active Infectious Disease tool can help nurse assessment coordinators (NACs) educate nurses on the key areas of required documentation for residents in isolation. Want …
Effective Oct. 1, 2023, the full Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 will only be completed if the resident responds to the gateway PHQ-2 questions in a certain way. The Patient Health Questionnaire Completion Determination chart clarifies when to stop the PHQ after the PHQ-2, how to code the Total Severity Score, …
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released unexpected changes in the final RAI User’s Manual, version 1.20.1, which goes into effect Oct. 1, 2025. The AAPACN MDS Changes At-a-Glance tool provides a high-level overview and key takeaways from the changes. This AAPACN resource is copyright protected. AAPACN individual …
