PPS Discharge Assessment: 10 Steps to a More Complete, Accurate MDS

The Medicare Part A PPS Discharge assessment (i.e., the NPE item set) is now a crucial assessment with far-reaching impacts for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) in the Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program (SNF QRP), the Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing (SNF VBP) program, the Five-Star Quality Rating System, and …

CMS QSO Memo: Nursing Home Residents’ Right to Vote

Compliance with Residents’ Rights Requirement related to Nursing Home Residents’ Right to Vote Memo #QSO-24-21-NH Posting Date 2024-09-26 Fiscal Year 2024 Memorandum Summary• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is affirming the regulatory expectation that ensures nursing home residents have the unimpeded ability to exercise their right to …

I0020B: Avoid Common Sources of Confusion When Coding This MDS Item

The ICD-10-CM code captured in MDS item I0020B (ICD-10 Code/Primary Medical Condition Category) is the foundation of case-mix classification for the Physical Therapy (PT), Occupational Therapy (OT), and Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) payment components in the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) under the fee-for-service Medicare Part A skilled nursing facility prospective payment …

Updates to ICD-10-CM Coding Guidelines: Key Revisions and Their Implications

The International Classification of Diseases, Clinical Modification, 10th revision (ICD-10-CM), coding system is an essential tool needed to document and bill accurately for healthcare services in the long-term care (LTC) setting. Annual updates to both the coding guidelines and the actual codes reflect updated clinical practices, advancements in medical understanding, …

Small Updates, Big Impact: October 2024 RAI Manual Changes – Sept. 19, 2024

Members: $25 |  Non-members: $50Continuing Education: 1.25 CE hours Recording Date: Sept. 19, 2024Duration: 75 minutesSpeaker: Jessie McGill, RN, BSN, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA Every October, nurse assessment coordinators (NACs) nervously anticipate what Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) User’s Manual changes will impact their primary duties and workflows. Some years bring massive changes, which result in policy …

Infection Control Issues and Career Advancement of the Infection Preventionist

In this podcast, Amy Stewart, MSN, RN, DNS-MT, QCP-MT, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA, chief nursing officer for AAPACN, and Dr. Devin Jopp, EdD, chief executive officer for the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), discuss the role of the infection preventionist in long-term care and how this respiratory season …

Nursing Orientation and Onboarding Done Right Can Boost Retention

Working as a nurse in a nursing home can be overwhelming, especially if the director of nursing services (DNS) and executive leadership expect nurses to learn on the job and fail to set up a comprehensive program that includes adequate orientation (short-term training and support) and onboarding (longer-term training and …