News for MDS Experts
Check out our insightful articles and current social feed of news that’s important to MDS Coordinators.
Our Latest Articles
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...
From Coding to Compliance: Avoiding Pitfalls in the 2026 MDS Landscape
With the numerous regulatory bodies that govern long term care (LTC) and skilled nursing facilities (SNF), it is easy to feel like there is no end to the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) and...
Keeping Up with Quality Measures in 2026
Quality measures (QM) that are driven by MDS data are currently utilized for long term care (LTC) facilities and skilled nursing facilities (SNF) in several ways. These QMs are publicly reported via...
The January refresh includes: Assessment-based measures reflecting data submitted by SNFs to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from Quarter 2, 2024 through Quarter 1, 2025.
-The Influenza Vaccination Coverage Among Healthcare Personnel measure reflecting data from Quarter 4, 2024 through Quarter 1, 2025.
-The CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage among Healthcare Personnel (HCP) measure and COVID-19 Vaccine: Percent of Patients Who Are Up to Date measure reflecting data from Quarter 1, 2025.
-The Potentially Preventable 30-Day Post-Discharge Readmission, Discharge to Community, and Medicare Spending Per Beneficiary claims-based measures reflecting data from Quarter 4, 2022 through Quarter 3, 2024.
-The SNF Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) measure reflects data from Quarter 4, 2023 through Quarter 3, 2024.
Please visit the compare tool on cstu.io/6c60e8 and PDC to view the updated quality data. For questions about SNF QRP Public Reporting, please email SNFQRPPRQuestions@cms.hhs.gov.
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As the week winds down, it’s a good moment to pause and reflect.
Since the October 1, 2025 updates, many teams are still finding their footing—balancing new expectations, accuracy, documentation, and how assessments truly connect to care planning.
Change doesn’t always settle neatly, and that’s okay.
Sometimes progress starts with open conversation, shared experiences, and learning from what others are seeing on the ground. We’re looking forward to continuing that dialogue and exploring practical paths forward on February 10.
Wishing everyone a great weekend ahead!
👉https://www.mdsexpert.com/webinars-training/
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The January update of Appendix B to the MDS 3.0 RAI User’s Manual contains changes to the list of State RAI Coordinators, MDS Automation Coordinators, and CMS locations and contacts.
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🎉 We’re kicking off our 2026 Education Year with AAPACN!
MDS Consultants is proud to begin our 2026 education year as an AAPACN Training Partner, starting with the QAPI Certified Professional (QCP®) Workshop in April 2026.
This nationally recognized workshop is designed to help facilities move beyond compliance and strengthen meaningful QAPI programs that truly impact resident care.
📅 QCP® | April 14–17, 2026
🖥️ Virtual | Eastern Time
🎓 15 Continuing Education Credits
🔗 Register at cstu.io/5568d2
Follow us for additional AAPACN certification opportunities throughout 2026.
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Since the October 1, 2025, MDS changes, many teams are still asking the same question:
“𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝗗𝗦 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼?”
Between revised items, evolving documentation expectations, and increased survey focus on F641 – Accuracy of Assessment, the pressure is real.
𝗙𝗲𝗯 𝟭𝟬 | 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲: 𝗠𝗗𝗦 𝟭𝟬/𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 – 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲𝘀?
Let’s talk through what’s breaking down — and what’s working.
Register to join the conversation: cstu.io/0b5ad3
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🚨CMS is releasing the following guidance in Chapter 5 of the SOM: • Revisions to Immediate Jeopardy Priority Definition examples for Nursing Homes; and • Clarification of Off-site investigations.
CMS has updated and revised guidance in Chapter 7 of the SOM that includes: • Survey Team Composition, Survey Procedures, Plans of Correction, Verifying Corrections, Survey Revisit and Offsite Revisit Paper Review, Off-hours Survey, Enforcement, Nurse Staffing Waivers, Disposition of Civil Money Penalties (CMP), Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Reduction Act, Informal Dispute Resolution (IDR), and Independent Informal Dispute Resolution (IIDR); • Additionally, guidance previously found in Appendix P of the State Operations Manual has been added to Chapter 7; and • Technical changes that include updates for accurate references
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Calendar Year (CY) 2027 Advance Notice of Methodological Changes for Medicare Advantage (MA) Capitation Rates and MA and Part D Payment Policies (the CY 2027 Advance Notice). This annual release proposes routine and technical updates that ensure MA and Part D payments are accurate. CMS will accept comments on the CY 2027 Advance Notice through 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time February 25, 2026, before publishing the final Rate Announcement on or before April 6, 2026.
The CY 2027 Advance Notice may be viewed at: cstu.io/6c045d.
To read the CMS fact sheet on the CY 2027 Advance Notice, visit: cstu.io/fd454c.
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Happy Friday! ☀️
A quick thank you to the administrators, nurses, MDS coordinators, and interdisciplinary team members who navigate complex regulations while keeping resident care at the center of everything they do. Your work matters.
Wishing everyone a restful and well-deserved weekend.
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🚨𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥: The SNF Provider Preview Reports have been updated and are now available. These reports contain provider performance scores for quality measures, which will be published on the compare tool on cstu.io/a59faf and the Provider Data Catalog (PDC) during the April 2026 refresh.
Providers have until February 14, 2026, to review their performance data. Only updates/corrections to the underlying assessment data before the final data submission deadline will be reflected in the publicly reported data on https://cstu.io/98d400 and PDC. If a provider updates assessment data after the final data submission deadline, the updated data will only be reflected in the Facility-Level Quality Measure (QM) report and Patient-Level QM report. Updates submitted after the final data submission deadline will not be reflected in the Provider Preview Reports or on https://cstu.io/98d400. However, providers can request a CMS review of their data during the preview period if they believe the displayed quality measure scores within their Provider Preview Reports are inaccurate.
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