The year 2024 brings a plethora of updates to the Medicare program, several significantly impacting skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). SNF staff must stay well informed about these updates to ensure proper billing and adequate coverage for a beneficiary’s skilled stay. This comprehensive article delves into key updates, encompassing changes in …
The expedited determination beneficiary notification process covers a lot of ground in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), affecting residents in the fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare Part A program and Medicare Advantage plans, as well as residents who receive Part B rehabilitation therapies under consolidated billing, says Carol Maher, RN-BC, RAC-MTA, RAC-MT, RAC-CTA, …
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on the Dec. 7 Skilling Nursing Facilities/Long-Term Care Open Door Forum that the drug classification of anticonvulsants will be added to the Minimum Data Set (MDS) item set starting Oct. 1, 2024. The new item will be added to N0415, High-risk …
Effective communication is the glue holding the MDS process together, says Stacy Grondel, BSN, RN, RAC-MT, CMAC, QCP. director of reimbursement operations at QRM in Addison, TX. “The nurse assessment coordinator (NAC) who is a strong communicator can develop better working relationships with the interdisciplinary team and executive leadership—and establish …
In this podcast, Jennifer LaBay, RN, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA, QCP, CRC, curriculum development specialist for AAPACN, and Jessie McGill, RN, BSN, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA, curriculum development specialist for AAPACN, discuss a few outstanding questions that members asked during the recent AAPACN webinar, Keep Quality Measures Hot During the Five-Star Freeze.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 16:15 — 9.8MB) | Embed
When the nurse assessment coordinator (NAC) goes on vacation, there’s a lot to keep track of while they are out of office. The MDS Daily Startup for the NAC Backup tool is intended to help the NAC backup position organize their day when covering during the primary NAC’s absence. The …
The nurse assessment coordinator (NAC) role is a complex one that requires managing numerous deadlines, compliance regulations, and the involvement of the interdisciplinary team (IDT) in the Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessment. The job can be overwhelming, even when everything proceeds as expected. And the NAC can feel defeated when …
MDS items E0100A (Hallucinations) and E0100B (Delusions) are qualifiers for the Behavioral Symptoms and Cognitive Performance category in the nursing component of the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM). Even more importantly, these conditions that form the core of E0100 (Potential Indicators of Psychosis) can indicate an acute medical condition—or result in …
In this podcast, Amy Stewart, MSN, RN, DNS-MT, QCP-MT, RAC-MT, RAC-MTA, chief nursing officer for AAPACN, Marti Wdowicki, PharmD, director of clinical operations for PharMerica, and Jeff Herr, PharmD, manager of clinical operations in the West for PharMerica, discuss a pharmacist’s perspective on coding section N of the MDS, what …
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 15:12 — 9.4MB) | Embed
This document presents technical specifications for the production of Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) claims-based measures (CBMs) for the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) and Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) program maintained by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The measures are intended to promote informed decisions among Medicare …
