In this QAPI video series, a QI expert walks through best practices for starting and leading a successful PIP/QIP, looking at important decisions to consider in starting a performance improvement plan, as well as highlighting …
Replay of Annual Influenza Updates for Long term Care Facilities Description REPLAY of the training held September 27, 2022 for facilities enrolled in the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Healthcare Personnel Safety (HPS) Component can …
There are two calls on Oct. 6. The first one is the Skilled Nursing Facility/Long-Term Care Open Door Forum and does not require registration. The second one is the National Nursing Home Stakeholder Call and …
Weekly health care personnel (HCP) & Resident COVID-19 Vaccination Weekly COVID-19 Vaccination Data Reporting Long-term care facilities can track weekly COVID-19 vaccination data for residents and healthcare personnel (HCP) through NHSN. September 2022 update (As …
The recognition of nurses for their roles in diagnosis is critical to achieving diagnostic safety improvements and advancements. Contemporary recommendations from the diagnostic safety literature highlight actions nurse leaders and educators can take to improve …
Notice from CMS: In March 2019, CMS released memorandum QSO-19-08-NH, which outlined a plan to update the quality measure (QM) rating thresholds every six months. The plan was to increase the thresholds by 50% of …
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Healthcare Safety Network Long-Term Care Facility Multidrug-Resistant Organism & Clostridioides difficile (MDRO/CDI) Infection Event Reporting Module Using Laboratory-identified Event Methodology offers protocols, tools and other resources at this site: …
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Healthcare Safety Network Long-Term Care Facility Urinary Tract Infection Module provides forms, tools, and other resources at this site: https://www.cdc.gov/nhsn/ltc/uti/index.html Most recent updates Data Collection Forms & …
Payers across the health care spectrum have begun transitioning from paying for quantity toward paying for quality. These value-based payment (VBP) programs vary in scope and focus, but generally share the goals of improving cost-savings …
More than 100 members nationwide have come together to launch the Moving Forward Quality Coalition, which plans to launch actions for nursing home improvements in early 2023. Topic areas include the following: Person-Centeredness, Culture Change, …
Five-Star, NHQI, SNF QRP, SNF VBP, PBJ data COVID-19 Vaccination Rates – State and National Averages State and National averages for facility resident and healthcare personnel COVID-19 vaccination rates. Data are presented as one row …
In this podcast, Amy Stewart, MSN, RN, DNS-MT, QCP-MT, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA, vice president of education and certification strategy for AAPACN, and Jessie McGill, RN, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA, curriculum development specialist with AAPACN, talk about recent changes …
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will be transitioning nursing homes to the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES) in the coming months. This system consolidates and replaces the Quality Improvement and …
CMS outlines actions for states to improve safety and quality of care for residents The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an informational bulletin detailing actions that states can take using existing Medicaid …
While key details are still pending, the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System (SNF PPS) final rule makes clear that meeting the reporting requirements of the Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting …
The SNF Provider Threshold Report in the ‘SNF Quality Reporting Program’ report category in the CASPER Reporting application is unavailable. An issue has been identified with the display of HCP COVID-19 Vaccine data submission results. …
With so many Quality Measures originating from three different payment initiative programs, it’s a lot to keep track of. AAPACN’s At-a-Glance QM, QRP, and VBP tool organizes all of the measures for you. This tool has been …
These FAQs were created to address questions about Enhanced Barrier Precautions as defined in the CDC guidance “Implementation of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in Nursing Homes to Prevent Spread of Multidrug-resistant Organisms (MDROs)” FAQS addressed …
National Partnership to Improve Dementia Care in Nursing Homes: Antipsychotic Medication Use Data Report (April 2022) he National Partnership to Improve Dementia Care in Nursing Homes is committed to improving the quality of care for …
The Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System (SNF PPS) final rule may not “turn that frown upside down” as the popular saying goes, but it does give SNFs—and in some cases …
Effective July 27, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has overhauled the methodology for the Staffing domain’s star rating calculations in the Five-Star Quality Rating System on Care Compare, says Jessie McGill, RN, …
The July 2022 Care Compare refresh reflected a major overhaul of how the Five-Star Staffing stars are calculated. The staffing domain is now based on six staffing measures, three based on hours per resident day …
While most skilled nursing facility (SNF) leaders are aware of QAPI and have executed a QAPI plan, many view QAPI itself as nebulous, abstract, or vague. This lack of clarity complicates QAPI execution. This, in …
The Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Provider Preview Reports, which contain the performance scores of the SNF Quality Reporting Program (QRP) measures, were released in late July. These measures will be publicly reported on Care Compare …
QAPI is a data-driven, proactive approach to improving the quality of care, life, and services for residents. A QAPI meeting is an opportunity for the QAA/QAPI Steering Committee to discuss performance of the full scope …
CMS created the Five-Star Quality Rating System to help consumers, their families, and caregivers compare nursing homes more easily. The Nursing Home Compare Web site features a quality rating system that gives each nursing home …
In this podcast, Amy Stewart, MSN, RN, DNS-MT, QCP-MT, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA, vice president of education and certification strategy for AAPACN and Dr. Rebecca Cahill, professor for the Research College of Nursing, discuss how lean healthcare …
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Fiscal Year 2023 Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System (SNF PPS) Proposed Rule earlier this month. CMS notes that this proposed rule would update “Payment …
Toolkit for States to Mitigate COVID-19 in Nursing Homes (PDF) UPDATED (5/6/22) From https://www.cms.gov/About-CMS/Agency-Information/Emergency/EPRO/Current-Emergencies/Current-Emergencies-page
This printable flyer infographic describes the Chain of Infection and How to Use it to Prevent the Spread of Infection in Long-Term Care (LTC) https://repository.netecweb.org/items/show/1666 Files for Download COI in LTC 4.29.2022 Final Compressed.pdf
The Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Provider Preview Reports have been updated and are now available. These reports contain provider performance scores for quality measures, which will be published on Care Compare and Provider Data Catalog (PDC) during the July 2022 release. The …
Last week, the AAPACN 2022 Conference was held in Las Vegas, bringing together nursing professionals for exceptional learning opportunities. One outstanding session occurred on Thursday, April 14, when representatives from the Centers for Medicare & …
With the release of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System (SNF PPS) proposed rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has signaled a significant commitment to pay-for-performance via …
While the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) put the brakes on many nursing home initiatives over the past two years, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is ready to get back to business …
Proposed Specifications for the Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing (SNF VBP) Program: Total Nursing Hours per Resident Day Measure (PDF) From https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/Value-Based-Programs/SNF-VBP/Measure
The Q4FY21 release of the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Report (PEPPER) with statistics through September 2021 is now available for download through the PEPPER Resources Portal. To obtain your SNF PEPPER, the Chief Executive Officer, President, Administrator, …
Nursing homes play a unique dual role in the long-term care continuum, serving as a place where people receive needed health care and a place they call home. Ineffective responses to the complex challenges of …
Even with the implementation of other quality programs over the past few years, the Nursing Home Quality Initiative (NHQI) quality measures (QMs) remain the core public-facing quality thermometer of long-term care. Taking the time to …
Nursing home staff will see two major changes to Care Compare with the April 2022 refresh: Public reporting of the SNF Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) Requiring Hospitalization In the FY 2022 SNF PPS Final Rule, …
An updated Quick Reference Guide is now available. The Quick Reference Guide provides high-level information on the SNF Quality Reporting Program, including frequently asked questions and helpful links. V2.0 was posted in early March. It …
JAMA Network Open Study excerpt: Key Points Question Are scores on a delirium severity measure that was developed using advanced psychometric approaches associated with in-hospital and posthospital clinical outcomes? Findings In this cohort study of older patients …
2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines Free access: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001063 Abstract Aim: The “2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA Guideline for …
JAMA Network Open Study Key Points excerpt: Findings This quality improvement study of 13 339 nursing homes found that daily variation of staffing was significantly associated with the 5-Star Survey and Quality Measures rankings. There was little …
Registration and data submission resources. PBJ QTSO Registration and Training 02-24-2022 (PDF) From https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/NursingHomeQualityInits/Staffing-Data-Submission-PBJ
Updates as of Feb. 17: Guidance streamlined Added links to guidance on testing for determining length of work restriction for healthcare personnel with SARS-CoV-2 infection or exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and for mitigating staff shortages in healthcare settings Time period …
Imagine sitting in a quality assurance and performance improvement (QAPI) meeting while different team members take turns reporting count data or the number of occurrences of an issue in the month. For example, the director …
CMS recently released the updated Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) COVID-19 Public reporting Tip Sheet, which clarifies the quarters used for public reporting with January 2022 Care Compare refresh using the following …
Jan 28, 2022 CMS will be transitioning to a new data source for a provider’s demographic data for all five Post-Acute Care (PAC) provider types (Skilled Nursing Facilities / Nursing Facilities (SNF/NFs), Home Health Agencies …
Jan 26, 2022 As part of its commitment to improve transparency and help families and caregivers find the best quality of nursing home care for their loved ones, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services …
The January 2022 refresh of the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) data is now available on Care Compare and Provider Data Catalog (PDC). The data are based on quality assessment data submitted by SNFs to …
The purpose of the Second Edition Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Public Reporting Tip Sheet is to help providers understand CMS’ public reporting approach to the SNF QRP to account for CMS quality data …
On January 14, 2022, CMS released an updated Nursing Home Five-Star Quality Rating System: Technical User’s Guide (January 2022), which announces two new staffing measures that will be publicly reported with the January 2022 Care …
Weekend Staffing: The level of total nurse and registered nurse (RN) staffing on weekends provided by each nursing home over a quarter. Staff Turnover: The percent of nursing staff and number of administrators that stopped …
Memo # QSO-22-08-NH Posting Date 2022-01-07 Fiscal Year 2022 Summary CMS will begin posting the following information for each nursing home on the Medicare.gov Care Compare website: Weekend Staffing: The level of total nurse and …
The MDS 3.0 QM User’s Manual V15.0 and accompanying Risk Adjustment Appendix File for MDS 3.0 Quality Measure User’s Manual V15 have been posted. The MDS 3.0 QM User’s Manual V15.0 contains detailed specifications for the MDS …
Misunderstandings about the Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program (SNF QRP) can involve everything from the risk adjustments to the quality measure (QM) calculations to how to use certain reports. These issues can cause headaches …
Question: Where can I find the CMS Quality Safety and Oversight (QSO) memos? Answer from Denise Winzeler, BSN, RN, LNHA, DNS-MT, QCP-MT AAPACN Curriculum Development Specialist: QSO memos issued from CMS can be found on …
The annual Measures Under Consideration (MUC) List from CMS includes four SNF VBP measures and two SNF QRP measures. 2021 MUC List (PDF) from https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/QualityMeasures/Pre-Rulemaking See Appendix A for measure specifications. MUC ID Measure Title …
Question: Where are SNF quality measure data publicly reported? Answer from CMS SNF QRP FAQs: The Care Compare website was launched in August 2020. It combines the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) eight …
Quick Assessment Reference Pocket Guides / Badge Buddies for Coding The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is offering Pocket Guides to assist providers in assessing and coding self-care and mobility, falls, and pressure ulcers/injuries. The pocket guides provide a quick reference for important terms and definitions that promote coding …
QSO-22-02-ALL Memorandum Summary CMS is announcing steps to assist State Survey Agencies (SAs) in addressing the backlog of complaint and recertification surveys. These steps include: Revising the criteria for conducting COVID-19 Focused Infection Control (FIC) …
CMS recently released a Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document, which clarified the use of two thresholds for the SNF QRP reporting compliance: What are the requirements for …
Hand Hygiene, Gown and Glove Use Adherence Sept. 21, 2021 update: Monthly Reporting Plan Monthly Reporting Plan for LTCF – September 2021 (57.141) pdf icon[PDF – 80 KB] Customizable form word icon[DOCX – 50 KB] Table of …
In this podcast, Amy Stewart, MSN, RN, DNS-MT, QCP-MT, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA, vice president of education and certification strategy for AAPACN speaks with Lisa Morris, RPh, BCGP, FASCP, executive director of clinical services for Consana, about …
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is granting exceptions under certain Medicare quality reporting and value-based purchasing programs located in areas affected by Hurricane Ida to assist you while you direct your resources …
A common question regarding Quality Measures is how quickly does an MDS need to be corrected to still impact MDS 3.0 Quality Measures. AAPACN’s MDS Quality Measures: Data Timeframes and Correction Periods tool will help …
In this podcast, Amy Stewart, MSN, RN, DNS-MT, QCP-MT, RAC-MT, RAC-MT, AAPACN vice president of education and certification strategy talks about quality measures for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) with Pat Newberry. Specifically, they address the differences …
Swingtech, a contractor with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), alerts skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) that are not meeting the Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program (SNF QRP) data submission threshold for the …
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) discovered an error in the calculations for the Discharge to Community measure and will be updating the Care Compare website with the corrected data on Sept. 29, …
Arch Phys Med Rehabil . 2021 Mar;102(3):480-487. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2020.09.375. Epub 2020 Sep 28. Objectives: To examine the association of patient and direct-care staff beliefs about patients’ capability to increase independence with activities of daily living (ADL) and the probability …
COVID-19 in Nursing Homes: Most Homes Had Multiple Outbreaks and Weeks of Sustained Transmission from May 2020 through January 2021 GAO analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that, …
We have all struggled with a stubborn knot or tangle at some point in our lives—whether it’s your kids’ shoelaces, your earbud cord, a garden hose, or even a fishing line. If you are a …
The safety of residents is a top priority for a skilled nursing facility (SNF). But how does one promote safety in such a dynamic environment? Three critical steps the director of nursing services (DNS) and …
NEW TRAINING AVAILABLE – Resident Mood Interview (PHQ-9) for the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Setting Video Tutorial CMS Resident Mood Interview (PHQ-9) for the SNF Setting Video Tutorial The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services …
Memo # QSO-21-15-ALL Posting Date 2021-03-26 Fiscal Year 2021 Summary Burden Reduction Final Rule Interpretive Guidelines: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is releasing interpretive guidelines and updates to Appendix Z of the …
https://www.cms.gov/how-update-nursing-home-nhskilled-nursing-facility-snf-demographic-data SNF Quality Reporting Program (QRP) quality data on Care Compare are updated on a quarterly basis. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will be transitioning to a new data source for providers’ demographic data for all five …
CMS Use of Data on Nursing Home Staffing: Progress and Opportunities To Do More (OEI-04-18-00451) The OIG has made four key recommendations related to staffing that CMS concurred with. These recommendations state that CMS should: Provide …
Note: The Access to Ombudsman information is highlighted in red in the memo, but that is what was revised in July. The new updates focus on the updated Q&As under the section, Individuals Entering and …
High nursing staff turnover in nursing homes offers important quality information Gandhi A, Yu H, Grabowski DC. Health Aff (Millwood). 2021 Prior research has found that high nursing staff turnover is associated with lower patient safety culture. …
Updated Mar. 10, 2021 Find the most recent update here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/infection-control-after-vaccination.html CDC guidance for SARS-CoV-2 infection may be adapted by state and local health departments to respond to rapidly changing local circumstances. On this page Visitation …
NOTE: CMS revised guidance on March 10, 2021 for nursing home visitation during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, which supersedes the visitation guidance in this memo. See CMS memorandum QSO-20-39-NH Revised, Nursing Home Visitation-COVID-19. ————————————————————————————————- …
In this eighth and final episode of the Deep Dive into MDS 3.0 Quality Measures podcast series, AAPACN curriculum development specialist, Jessie McGill, RN, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA, discusses two long-stay measures, Percent of Residents Who were …
A resource guide, written by and for directors of nursing, administrators, and other nursing home leaders, outlines steps to reduce or eliminate urgent staff shortages, particularly shortages of direct care workers. This guide is from the …
The Center for Medicare Advocacy released a new report – Geography Is Not Destiny: Protecting Nursing Home Residents from the Next Pandemic – which explores facilities’ responses to the coronavirus crisis and examines how residents’ deaths were …
ASPR TRACIE Emergency Preparedness Report: Identifying and Overcoming Healthcare Communications Vulnerabilities: Nashville, TN While the Christmas morning recreational vehicle blast outside the AT&T transmission facility in Nashville did not cause a mass fatality incident, it …
As part of our nation’s critical infrastructure, healthcare facilities large and small must be proactive and move quickly to protect themselves from cyberattacks that could directly impact the health and safety of patients and the …
The Improving Post-Acute Care Transformation Act of 2014 (IMPACT Act) requires the Secretary to specify resource use measures, on which post-acute care (PAC) providers, including skilled nursing facilities, are required to submit necessary data specified …
AHRQ has released the National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report: Chartbook on Patient Safety 2021, which offers an overview of nonidentifiable, aggregated patient safety event and near-miss information that has been voluntarily reported by AHRQ-listed Patient Safety Organizations. …
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers strategies for optimizing the supply of: N95 respirators Face masks Isolation gowns Eye Protection Gloves Powered Air-Purifying Respirators (PAPRs) Elastomeric respirators Ventilators https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/ppe-strategy/index.html Also see: Summary …
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. 2021 AHRQ has released the Network of Patient Safety Databases (NPSD) Chartbook 2021, which offers an overview of nonidentifiable, aggregated patient safety event and near-miss information that has been voluntarily reported by …
Question: What can facility leadership do to best improve Quality Measures? Answer: It takes time and intentional effort to develop and implement processes that consistently produce quality, which is then reflected in Quality Measure …
DATE: June 1, 2020 REVISED 01/04/2021 TO: State Survey Agency Directors FROM: Director Quality, Safety & Oversight Group SUBJECT: Revised COVID-19 Survey Activities, CARES Act Funding, Enhanced Enforcement for Infection Control deficiencies, and Quality Improvement …
CMS will be transitioning to a new data source for a provider’s demographic data for all five Post-Acute Care (PAC) provider types (Skilled Nursing Facilities / Nursing Facilities (SNF/NFs), Home Health Agencies (HHAs), Inpatient Rehabilitation …
In this seventh episode of the Deep Dive into MDS 3.0 Quality Measures podcast series, AANAC curriculum development specialist, Jane Belt, MS, RN, QCP, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA, discusses three measures – two long-stay measures, Percent of …
Federal regulations require nursing homes to provide safe, individualized medication administration to residents. However, even before the COVID-19 public health emergency, many consultant pharmacists only went to nursing homes once a month for medication regimen …
Main Points Opioids are probably less effective than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for surgical dental pain and kidney stone pain and might be similarly effective to NSAIDs for low back pain. Opioids might be and …
In this sixth episode of the Deep Dive into MDS 3.0 Quality Measures podcast series, AAPACN curriculum development specialist, Jessie McGill, RN, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA, discusses three measures—the percent of residents with urinary tract infections, percent …
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is offering a web-based training course that provides an overview of the assessment and coding of pressure ulcers/injuries. This 90-minute course is intended for providers in …
From Data Elements to Quality Measures – Cross-Setting QRP Web-Based Training The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is offering a web-based training course that provides a high-level overview of how data elements within …
