News for MDS Experts
Check out our insightful articles and current social feed of news that’s important to MDS Coordinators.
Our Latest Articles
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...
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...
CMS is pleased to announce some recently released enhancements to the Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 Resident-Level Quality Measure report. Since January 2026 releases, the iQIES and Quality Reporting Program (QRP) help desks have received several inquiries on the new hybrid measure results particularly regarding residents who trigger the measure because of only claims data as opposed to not being indicated in the MDS assessment.
𝗧𝗼 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱, 𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁.
In addition to viewing whether the measure was triggered or not triggered, three additional data fields have been added to the report, along with referencing footnotes to explain the data. The three new fields are:
Trigger Source b
Reflects the data source that caused the measure to be triggered: 1 = MDS, 2 = Claims, 3 = Both
Exclusion Reason c
Reflects the reason the resident was excluded from the measure: 1 = Enrollment-based exclusion, 2 = Schizophrenia, Tourette's, or Huntington's on MDS and Claims, 3 = At least one Medicare Part A/Medicaid record for hospice services during nursing home stay and overlapping with target period, 9 = Other
Inclusion Reason d
Reflects the reason the resident was included in the measure: 1 = Meets continuous enrollment requirement with no excluded diagnoses indicated, 2 = Resident has excluded diagnoses on MDS, but no matching claims for that diagnosis, 9 = Other
For questions about this information, please contact our QIES/iQIES Service Center by phone: (800) 339-9313 or by email at iQIES@cms.hhs.gov. ... See MoreSee Less
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Happy Friday!
Here’s to wrapping up the week, tying up loose ends, and heading into the weekend feeling accomplished.
You earned it!
#HappyFriday #LongTermCare #SkilledNursing #HealthcareLife #MDS #NurseLeadership #HealthcareProfessionals ... See MoreSee Less
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Updates posted on 4/2/2026 to Nursing Homes Post-Launch Providers, Intakes, and Enforcement FAQ, Nursing Homes Post-Launch Survey-Questions and Answers, and Nursing Home Surveys Office Hours-Questions and Answers.
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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.
cstu.io/52475f ... See MoreSee Less
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The March 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. To ensure accurate formatting, use a current version of Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this PDF. Web-based or mobile browser plug-ins may affect how the file is displayed.
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Kristine Martinez BSN, RN, RAC-CT, RAC-CTA, QCP, DNS-CT and Lavatus Donaldson LPN, BPS-HIM, RAC-CT, MBA, QCP discuss successful strategies for regulatory compliance and key takeaways for nurse leaders in their article, From Coding to Compliance Avoiding Pitfalls in the 2026 MDS Landscape, featured in AAPACN.
www.aapacn.org/
cstu.io/06e624 ... See MoreSee Less
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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.
#AAPACN #AAPACNTrainingPartner #QCP #QAPI #MDSConsultants #SNFEducation #LongTermCare #NurseLeadership #Compliance #QualityImprovement ... See MoreSee Less
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Care plans should guide care—not just exist.
Small adjustments in how we write them can make a big difference in how they’re actually used by the team.
This week’s Tuesday Tip 👆
#MDS #SNF #CarePlanning #Psychotropics #LongTermCare #MDSCONSULTANTS ... See MoreSee Less
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Let’s be honest for a second…
Are your care plans actually being used by your team… or just completed because they have to be? 👀
This month we’re digging into psychotropic medications, PRNs, and care planning—and how to move from “paper compliance” to something that actually supports care (and keeps you out of trouble).
We also included:
✔️ CMS updates you don’t want to miss
✔️ What’s changing
✔️ What to pay attention to now
If you’re in MDS, nursing leadership, or billing—you’ll want to take a look.
👉https://https://cstu.io/7e532a
#MDS #SNF #LongTermCare #CarePlanning #HealthcareCompliance ... See MoreSee Less
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