When completing any Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessment, accurate coding of A0310E is critical. This item is completed on OBRA (Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act), scheduled PPS (Prospective Payment System), and OBRA discharge assessments. It asks, “Is this assessment the first assessment since the most recent admission/entry or reentry?” How this …
The director of nursing services (DNS) is preparing for her first annual survey. She wants to take a proactive approach regarding facility residents with enteral feedings. However, as a relatively new DNS, she is unsure where to begin. Sound familiar? This article will provide a process to assist the DNS …
N0415 (High-Risk Drug Classes: Use and Indication) is much more than just paperwork. This MDS item impacts resident care through the care area triggers (CATs) and the care area assessments (CAAs), as well as facility performance across the Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program (SNF QRP), the Skilled Nursing Facility …
In the fast-paced position of a nurse assessment coordinator (NAC), keeping track of all the residents’ whereabouts can be challenging. The NAC must know who is coming into the facility and if this resident is a new admission or a readmission, as well as who has left—whether on a leave …
MDS section N (Medications)—in particular item N0415 (High-Risk Drug Classes: Use and Indication)— plays a key role in a nursing home’s ability to provide comprehensive, resident-centered care via the care area triggers (CATs) and the care area assessments (CAAs) in the care planning process. N0415 also may affect a facility’s …
Navigating Medicare Part A coverage in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) is a matter of regulatory compliance. But it’s also a daily ethical test for facility staff and administrators. In many ways it depends on the honor system, and those responsible for billing and care case management must understand and apply …
Ensuring that nursing staff have the “appropriate competencies and skills sets to provide nursing and related services to assure resident safety and attain or maintain the highest practicable physical, mental, and psychosocial well-being of each resident” is embedded at 42 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §483.35. Discussion of staff competencies …
PRN Medication Use is one of the few sections of the revised F605 (Right to Be Free From Chemical Restraints/Unnecessary Psychotropic Medications) in Appendix PP of the State Operations Manual that does not have changes that went into effect on April 28, 2025. However, the updated examples of F605 noncompliance …
Sensory impairments, such as loss of vision, hearing, taste, smell, or touch, are common among older adults, and significantly affect their quality of life. These impairments often go unnoticed or may be mistaken for cognitive decline, leading to missed opportunities for interventions, or worse, a decline in function. Residents with …
In the Medicare Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System (SNF PPS) and Consolidated Billing Proposed Rule for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) does not reveal any firm proposals for new quality measures (QMs). However, CMS does serve up a simple reminder for nurse …
