Category: MDS 3.0 and the RAI Process

Question: A resident’s wheelchair tipped backward in therapy. The physical therapy assistant was able to catch him, but it resulted in a skin tear to the arm. The resident remained in the wheelchair and did not come to rest on the ground. Should this be coded as a fall? Answer …

Question: A resident on a Medicare Part A stay was sent to the emergency department by ambulance at 6:45 p.m. on Feb. 2 and returned to the facility just after midnight without being admitted to the hospital. Would this situation qualify as an interrupted stay? Answer from Jeff Taylor:The interrupted …

Question: If the registered dietitian documents a resident is at risk for malnutrition within the MDS look-back period, can “risk for malnutrition” be coded on the MDS section I5600? Answer from Jennifer LaBay RN, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA, QCP, CRC: Since this is section I, the documentation can ONLY come from a …

Question: How do you code discharge status, A2105, when the resident discharged to a hotel? Answer from Carol Maher, RN, GERO-BC, RAC-MTA, RAC-MT, CPC: A discharge to a homeless shelter, jail, or hotel would be coded as 99, None of the above. This AAPACN resource is copyright protected. AAPACN individual members …

Question: If a resident has a diagnosis of “schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type,” how is this coded on the MDS? Answer from Carol Maher, RN, GERO-BC, RAC-MTA, RAC-MT, CPC: Schizoaffective disorder would be coded at I6000, but ONLY if all of the DSM-5 requirements are met (physician comprehensive assessment present and …