News for MDS Experts
Check out our insightful articles and current social feed of news that’s important to MDS Coordinators.
Our Latest Articles
Care Planning to Reduce the Risk for Chemical Restraint
How can we turn care plans from an exercise in paper compliance that few staff understand, let alone review or utilize, to a workable document that helps us manage resident needs? When thinking...
From Orders to Action: Aligning Care Plans and Psychotropic Medications
Critical Element Pathways (CEPs) are tools in the Long-Term Care State Operations Manual (SOM) that are developed by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) and utilized by surveyors along with...
F641 in Plain English – How Interview Accuracy Protects Your CMI
When surveyors look at MDS accuracy, they’re not just checking boxes – they’re looking at whether the assessment truly reflects the resident. F641 holds the interdisciplinary team and nursing...
Happy Friday to our long-term care teams—thank you for everything you do. Hope you get a chance to reset this weekend.
#MDSConsultants #educationandtraining #MDS #residentcare #PDPM ... See MoreSee Less
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ACHCA 2026 — we’re here! 👋
If you missed our educators today, you can still catch them tomorrow.
👉 cstu.io/8e7c7d
#ACHCA #SkilledNursing #LongTermCare #MDSConsultants ... See MoreSee Less
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𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘁 “𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀.”
They connect to care planning, survey focus, Care Compare/Five Star, and reimbursement.
On May 12, our MDS Consultants Education Team is kicking off a webinar series that breaks down the different QM types (MDS 3.0, SNF QRP, SNF VBP) and shows how to build a practical game plan your team can use.
✅ You must register to receive your personal login link: cstu.io/98f56b
𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀:
May 12 (Kickoff) | May 26 (Part 1) | Jun 9 (Part 2) | Jun 23 (Part 3) | Jul 7 (Part 4) | Jul 21 (Part 5) | Aug 4 (Part 6)
#MDSConsultantsQMSeries #QualityMeasures #SkilledNursing #MDS30 #FiveStar #SurveyReadiness #PDPM ... See MoreSee Less
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April is Occupational Therapy Month. Thank you to all the PAC (Post-Acute Care) Occupational Therapy staff that provide care to our SNF/NH residents.
www.aota.org/events/calendar/ot-month/?utm_source=contentstudio.io&utm_medium=referral ... See MoreSee Less
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"Updates to the Quality Reporting Program and Value-Based Purchasing Program for Federal Fiscal Year 2027” proposed rule (CMS-1843 P, RIN 0938-AV75) available at www.federalregister.gov/?utm_source=contentstudio.io&utm_medium=referral. As outlined in the FY 2027 SNF PPS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, we are proposing to remove the COVID-19 Vaccine: Percent of Patients/Residents Who Are Up to Date (Patient/Resident COVID-19 Vaccine) measure beginning with the FY 2028 SNF QRP. SNFs would no longer be required to collect and submit the Patient/Resident COVID–19 Vaccine measure data to CMS, therefore the Resident’s COVID–19 vaccination is up to date (O0350) data element is removed from the MDS effective October 1, 2027. "
www.cms.gov/regulations-and-guidance/legislation/paperworkreductionactof1995/pra-listing-items/cm... ... See MoreSee Less
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In a report, the Office of Inspector General found that some skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) didn’t comply with Medicare requirements for reporting related party costs. These SNFs failed to report related parties on their Medicare Cost Reports or reported the costs inaccurately, resulting in overstated costs to the Medicare Program. oig.hhs.gov/documents/audit/10131/A-07-21-02836.pdf?utm_source=contentstudio.io&utm_medium=referral
𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗡𝗙 𝗕𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁: www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Medicare-Learning-Network-MLN/MLNProducts/EnrollmentResources/...
Why related party costs must be reported accurately
How to accurately report these costs and required documentation
www.cms.gov/training-education/medicare-learning-network/newsletter/mln-connects-newsletter-april... ... See MoreSee Less
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𝗦𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰 𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀? 𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲.
With updated guidance and the upcoming changes to quality measures, facilities are being looked at more closely than ever when it comes to psychoactive medication management.
Join us for Part 2 as we break this down in a way that actually makes sense—and gives you something you can take back to your team.
🗓️𝗔𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗹 𝟮𝟭
𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 (𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟮)
𝗪𝗲’𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻:
✔ Utilize behavioral assessments to direct person-centered care planning
✔ Identify non-pharmacological interventions as alternatives to psychoactive medication use
✔ Discuss the psychoactive medications and their impact on quality measures
✔ Delve into the importance of integrating IDT psychoactive medication management through QAPI process
This isn’t just about compliance—it’s about doing it right and avoiding survey issues before they happen.
👉 Don’t see the register button? cstu.io/b41d4a
#LongTermCare #SNF #MDS #HealthcareCompliance #QAPI #NurseLeadership #SurveyReady #PsychotropicMedications ... See MoreSee Less
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We are headed to Orlando, Florida this week to present three speaking sessions at ACHCA 2026 Annual Convention and Expo April 20-23. Join our sessions as we discuss: The Top 10 Citations, and How to Prevent; RAI System Essentials and the Roadmap to SNF Quality; Compliance and Medication Management using Team-Based Compliance.
www.achca.org/convention/?utm_source=contentstudio.io&utm_medium=referral ... See MoreSee Less
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I see this all the time-
Teams are doing the work… but not always seeing how it all connects.
MDS isn’t just about completing assessments.
It impacts reimbursement, quality measures, and survey outcomes.
When that connection clicks, everything changes— documentation improves, accuracy increases, and teams feel more confident in what they’re doing.
That’s where we really see RAC-CT make a difference.
As an AAPACN Training Partner, we’re hosting the upcoming RAC-CT workshop in June:
👉https://https://cstu.io/48dbce
#RACCT #MDS #SNF #LongTermCare #PDPM #HealthcareCompliance #MDSCONSULTANTS #AAPACNTRAININGPARTNER ... See MoreSee Less
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