Part A Basics: 30-Day Transfers and the Medical Appropriateness Exception

The 30-day transfer rule and its medical appropriateness exception typically don’t come up on a daily basis in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), yet these requirements—and flexibilities—are a key component of the fee-for-service Medicare Part A rules for SNF coverage in chapter 8, “Coverage of Extended-Care (SNF) Services Under Hospital Insurance,” …

Quick Guide to the SNF QRP iQIES Report: Resident-Level QM Report

The Quick Guide to the SNF QRP iQIES Report: Resident-Level QM Report tool offers detailed information on how to interpret the SNF QRP Resident-Level Report for each MDS-based measure, depending on if the resident has not triggered (NT) or has triggered (X). This AAPACN resource is copyright protected. AAPACN individual …

Late or Missed PPS 5-Day Assessments: Know the Consequences and How to Avoid Them

Many new nurse assessment coordinators (NACs)—and even some experienced ones—don’t understand what counts as a late MDS assessment, what counts as a missed MDS assessment, or what the financial ramifications are for late vs. missed assessments in the Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System (SNF PPS), says Robin Hillier, CPA, …

Quality Measure IQ Series: Long-Stay Falls Measures

Someone with an intelligence quotient (IQ) of 130 may be considered above average for intelligence but still not understand the complexities of the MDS 3.0 Quality Measures (QMs). This series of articles on QMs will improve the QM IQs of healthcare professionals in long-term care, starting here with two long-stay …

Resident-to-Resident Altercations: What Happens Now? – May 30, 2024

Members: $24 |  Non-members: $48Continuing Education: 1 CE hour Recording Date: May 30, 2024Duration: 60 minutesSpeaker: Denise Winzeler, BSN, RN, LNHA, DNS-MT, QCP-MT Unfortunately, resident-to-resident altercations can and do occur in nursing facilities. These altercations are sometimes deemed an abuse situation. When this occurs, facility leadership must know the actions to take once the …

Guide to Successful Restorative Programs

There are many reasons to beef up your facility’s restorative program, from reducing risk of functional decline, improving Five-Star and Quality Measure ratings, minimizing risk of falls and immobility, to improving reimbursement under PDPM.  But doing so is easier said than done! AAPACN has develop an interactive guide to restorative …

FY 2025 Final MDS 3.0 Item Sets version 1.19.1 Effective Oct. 1, 2024

The final Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 Item Sets version (v)1.19.1 are now available. The MDS Item Sets v1.19.1 will be effective beginning October 01, 2024. Items in sections A, B, D, GG, I, J, N, and O are affected. From https://www.cms.gov/medicare/quality/nursing-home-improvement/resident-assessment-instrument-manual

Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) MDS Coding Explainer Video

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is offering a 4-minute, animated explainer video, Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Items: Using Sources Other Than the Resident to Code for SNF providers. This video is intended to assist providers in accurately determining when the use of other sources is allowed for SDOH items: A1005. …

PDPM Clinically Complex Nursing Qualifiers: Coding and Documentation Refresher

The Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) includes four ways for a resident to classify into the Clinically Complex category of the Nursing payment component. If a resident has conditions or is receiving services that qualify for Extensive Services, Special Care High, or Special Care Low, but does not have a PDPM …

Tricky NAC Issues Even Some Experts Miss

Nurse assessment coordinators (NACs) definitely experience variety in their jobs, to state the obvious. Management and completion of the Minimum Data Set/Resident Assessment Instrument (MDS/RAI) process, Medicare management, and ICD-10-CM coding are just a few of the areas they are expected to master in their role. With these responsibilities alone, …