For staff, the holidays can be a busy time full of family gatherings and holiday celebrations, but for our residents, the holidays can be an especially lonely time. Our residents must adjust to so many different circumstances as they age — issues such as physical disability, loss of independence, social …
Planning for time off over the holidays often takes coordination across the entire interdisciplinary team (IDT) to ensure processes and systems continue to operate smoothly while key players are missing. The nurse assessment coordinator (NAC) must ensure MDS assessments are in place, skilled Medicare decisions are being made appropriately, significant …
Question: I understand that the diagnosis in I0020B should be listed as the principal diagnosis on the UB-04 claim; however, should the remaining diagnoses be listed in order according to the main reasons the resident is skilled how we list the codes in I8000, to include the codes that are …
By Emily Royalty-Bachelor Care conferences: maybe you’re familiar with them. Maybe you even attend them on a regular basis. But are you confident that your care conferences are meeting their intended purposes and making good use of everyone’s time? Here are some important details you need to know about hosting your …
As a screening tool to identify potential weight problems for adults, body mass index (BMI) has always been important to document, but it gained new importance as a reimbursement factor for Medicare Part A residents under the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM). Here’s what nurse assessment coordinators (NACs) need to know …
The nurse assessment coordinator and team members can easily convert the case-mix groups achieved under the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) to the five-digit Medicare billing code by using the PDPM Case-Mix Group Conversion to HIPPS Characters tool. For permission to use or reproduce this tool in full or in …
New Episode of CMS: Beyond The Policy is Available: Episode 5: Nursing Home Strategy Part 1 – Strengthening Oversight The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) posted the 5th episode of the CMS: Beyond the Policy podcast which focuses on the first of the CMS’s 5-pronged strategy on strengthening …
Question: Does the primary diagnosis that physical therapy and occupational therapy use need to match the primary ICD-10 code used by nursing? Answer: Often confusion stems from the terms used across different disciplines. Therapists use medical and treatment diagnoses, while the SNF uses other terms, such as admission diagnosis, …
Question: Under RUG-IV PPS, if the resident returns to a skilled level of care within 30 days the reason for skilled care would have to be something that was present/treated during the first qualifying hospital stay or developed during the skilled period. How does that work with PDPM and the Interrupted …
Trends in Deficiencies at Nursing Homes Show That Improvements Are Needed To Ensure the Health and Safety of Residents (A-09-18-02010) In this data brief, we analyze nursing home deficiencies that were identified by State survey agencies (State agencies) across the Nation for calendar years 2013 through 2017 (review period). This …
