On Jan. 12, 2026, the first wave of Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program (SNF QRP) validation audits notifications arrived in the iQIES MDS 3.0 Provider Preview Reports folder for some facilities. While 1,500 randomly selected facilities will receive this audit, not all were included in this first wave. For …
Multidrug-Resistant Organism & Clostridioides difficile (MDRO/CDI) Infection Event Reporting Module Using Laboratory-identified Event Methodology January 2026 updates Data Collection Forms & Instructions All Data Collection Forms are Print-only MDRO/CDI Events See more at https://www.cdc.gov/nhsn/ltc/cdiff-mrsa/index.html
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is offering a recorded presentation that describes the new data validation process. This training will support skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) in understanding the purpose and structure of the data validation process including the notification and submission process, required activities for selected SNFs, …
In this LTC NAC Chat podcast episode, Amy Stewart, MSN, RN, DNS-MT, QCP-MT, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA, chief nursing officer for AAPACN, and Jessie McGill, RN, BSN, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA, senior curriculum development specialist for AAPACN, discuss falls with major injury and a sneak peek into McGill’s breakout session at the AAPACN 2026 …
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Listen to this article Your browser does not support the audio element. The Oct. 1, 2025, update to the definitions of “fall” and “major injury” in the Long-Term Care Facility Resident Assessment Instrument 3.0 User’s Manual (RAI User’s Manual) has left many nurse assessment coordinators (NACs) with questions about what …
Care Compare refreshes MDS 3.0 Quality Measure (QM) data quarterly in January, April, July, and October with the most recent four full quarters of data. AAPACN’s Five-Star and Care Compare MDS 3.0 Quality Measure Data Periods tools identify exactly which quarters will be publicly reported and used in Five-Star with each Care …
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) initiated data validation audits to evaluate the accuracy of quality measure data elements used in the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) and the Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) program. The SNF Validation Audit Checklist guides SNFs through the data validation audit …
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released the Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 Quality Measures (QM) User’s Manual, version (V)18.0, which will go into effect Jan. 1, 2026. This update contains the re-specification of the Long Stay Antipsychotic Measure to include Medicare and Medicaid claims and encounter data, in …
The expected October Care Compare refresh was delayed during the government shutdown, but it was finally refreshed on Nov. 30, 2025. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) outlined key updates also included with this refresh: Note: The Medicare Spending Per Beneficiary claims-based measure is based on data from Quarter …
In long-term care, maintaining a resident’s functional independence is both a clinical and regulatory priority. The Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 Quality Measure (QM), “Percent of Residents Whose Need for Help with Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) Has Increased” reflects one of the most essential goals in skilled nursing: to …
