News for MDS Experts
Check out our insightful articles and current social feed of news that’s important to MDS Coordinators.
Our Latest Articles
Fall MDS Updates are Here!
October 1 is typically when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) institutes changes to the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) and Minimum Data Set (MDS) – and this year is no...
Medicaid PDPM Is Coming: What Skilled Nursing Facilities Need to Know
Beginning October 1, 2025, many nursing homes will adopt a new reimbursement model for Medicaid residents: the Patient-Driven Payment Model, or Medicaid PDPM. While PDPM has been in place for...
The Facility Assessment and Emergency Management Planning: The MDS Plays a Big Role
What is the MDS Role in the Facility Assessment? F838 in the State Operations Manual (SOM) provides specific information for developing a Facility Assessment that must be reviewed and updated...
𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗘𝗗: Contingency Plans – State Survey & Certification Activities in the Event of Federal Government Shutdown, QSO Ref: QSO-26-01-ALL. Released 10/21/2025. ... See MoreSee Less
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𝗚𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁? 🧭
Per the RAI User’s Manual, the ICD-10 code in I0020B should reflect the primary reason for the resident’s SNF stay during the look-back, not a historical or resolved condition.
Code active conditions only, those evaluated, monitored, or treated and supported in the record.
👉 Need help tightening your process? Schedule a brief consultation to review your I0020B approach.
#MDS #ICD10 #RAI #SNF #Compliance #DataIntegrity ... See MoreSee Less
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𝗢𝗰𝘁 𝟮𝟴 | 𝗚𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗗𝗦 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 👻
MDS accuracy is a regulatory requirement. Inaccurate assessments can lead to citations, affect care plans, quality of care, and behavioral health, and result in civil penalties. This webinar reviews commonly miscoded MDS data elements and ways to avoid these errors.
𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻:
- Regulatory requirements for the RAI process and accurate assessments
- Frequently identified MDS errors and their impact
- Strategies to prevent and mitigate MDS coding errors
𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱: Administrators, Regional Directors, Directors of Nursing Services, Nurse Assessment Coordinators, MDS Coordinators, and MDS Interdisciplinary Team members.
𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿: Kristine Martinez, RN, BSN, DNS-CT, RAC-CT, RAC-CTA, QCP
👉 Register to receive your personal login link.
cstu.io/2aa1ec
#MDS #longtermcare #SNF #NursingLeadership #Rai #SurveyReadiness ... See MoreSee Less
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To every nurse, NAC, and IDT member closing the week strong, thank you. 🫶
#CareWithPurpose #residentcare #MDS #LTC #MDSConsultants ... See MoreSee Less
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Clarification (per CMS QSO-26-01):
The shutdown pause applies to some State Survey & Certification activities—not to your facility duties.
You must still complete:
• MDS assessments on time and accurately
• Medicare Part A certifications/recertifications for SNF stays
• Routine documentation, orders, and submissions.
In short: Surveys may slow. Your MDS and Medicare certs do not. Keep coding and submitting as usual. ... See MoreSee Less
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𝗠𝘆𝘁𝗵: If it’s on the problem list, it goes on MDS.
𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁: RAI wants active diagnoses, conditions that have been evaluated/treated or affecting care in the look-back period (and reflected in the plan).
𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲.
𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁? 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀.
#ICD10 #RAI #MDS #Compliance ... See MoreSee Less
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The Internet Quality Improvement & Evaluation System (iQIES) Survey and Certification (S&C) Electronic Plan of Correction (ePOC): Provider ePOC Administrator Role User Manual Version 1.3 October 1, 2025. This user manual addresses the processes necessary to perform Survey & Certification (S&C) Electronic Plan of Correction (ePOC) functions in iQIES.
cstu.io/919b58
cstu.io/ae5dd6 ... See MoreSee Less
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New Tuesday Tip: A 45 second walkthrough of ICD-10, Section I: active diagnosis, primary selection, and pitfalls to avoid.
Want backup on coding? MDS Consultants can help.
#ICD10 #MDS #SNF #compliance #MDSConsultants #LTC #DocumentationMatters ... See MoreSee Less
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📢The iQIES MDS Error Message User Guide V1.0 and the iQIES MDS Error Messages v1.0 were posted on 10/1/2025.
cstu.io/9952d5
cstu.io/e6a5bf
cstu.io/c563fc ... See MoreSee Less
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