News for MDS Experts

The Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Overview of Data Elements Used for Reporting Assessment-Based Quality Measures and Standardized Patient Assessment Data Elements Affecting Fiscal Year (FY) 2029 Annual Payment Update (APU) Determination table has been updated to reflect the data elements that will be required to meet the APU for the FY 2029 SNF QRP.
cstu.io/01a7b5
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Transmittal 13971: 𝗦𝗨𝗠𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘𝗦: The purpose of this Change Request (CR) is to require the Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) to post Targeted Probe and Educate (TPE) results on their websites in an effort to keep the provider and supplier communities informed of issues and trends. EFFECTIVE DATE: November 2, 2026 *Unless otherwise specified, the effective date is the date of service. 𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲
"Targeted Probe and Educate Quarterly Web Posting Each quarter"
𝘔𝘈𝘊𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘛𝘗𝘌 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘶𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘣𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘐𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘤 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘈𝘊𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭.
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Medicare audits don't start when the records are requested. Is your facility prepared?

Join us on October 27 for Part 2 of What's in a Name? Understanding the Basic Types of Medicare Audits.

We'll take a closer look at common documentation deficiencies, Medicare coverage, PDPM coding, MDS accuracy, and strategies to strengthen audit preparedness.

📅 October 27, 2026

🔗 Register here: cstu.io/bdf054/

#MDSConsultants #MedicareAudits #MDS #PDPM #SkilledNursing #LongTermCare #SNFCompliance ... See MoreSee Less

The draft MDS Data Specifications V3.11.0 are now available for download under the Downloads section at the bottom of this webpage. This version will be implemented in production on October 1, 2027. Please note the new response value 12 for GG0130 and GG0170 items at the discharge and OBRA/Interim time points. Also, note the new skip pattern in GG0170 and the removal of item O0350. As always, please check the item and edit change reports for additional details. 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘚 𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘋𝘙𝘈𝘍𝘛 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘐𝘕𝘈𝘓 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯.
cstu.io/938f6a
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Correction to the FY 2027 SNF Final Rule to the SNF wage index file correcting technical and typographical errors in the preamble, and tables referenced in the FY 2027 SNF final rule. This final rule correction is intended solely to ensure that the FY 2027 SNF PPS final rule accurately reflects these payment methodologies and policies.
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The MDS, documentation, and care plan should tell the same story.

When they do not align, facilities may face risk related to reimbursement, quality measures, survey readiness, and resident-centered care.

Strong processes help teams catch concerns before they become bigger issues.

#MDS #skillednursing #longtermcare #PDPM #compliance #QualityMeasures #MDSCONSULTANTS ... See MoreSee Less

It’s time to recognize the people behind the MDS. 🧩

Behind every accurate assessment, successful survey and strong interdisciplinary team are professionals helping to keep the pieces together.

MDS Consultants is excited to launch The Faces of MDS Leadership 2027, recognizing MDS professionals and nursing leaders across the country who bring knowledge, leadership and commitment to their teams every day.

𝗪𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂!

Share your experience and leadership insight for an opportunity to become part of The Faces of MDS Leadership 2027.

Four participants will also be selected for a special quarterly feature in our 2027 MDS Leadership Recognition Calendar, with additional opportunities to share their voices and insights throughout the year.

📅 Submissions are open through November 30, 2026.

👉 cstu.io/df25da/

#FacesOfMDSLeadership #MDSLeadership #MDSCoordinator #MDS #LongTermCare #SkilledNursing #NursingLeadership #MDSConsultants ... See MoreSee Less

📢𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗡𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 (𝗦𝗡𝗙) 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲-𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 (𝗛𝗔𝗜) 𝗥𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲.
The report presents the technical specifications for the refined SNF HAI measure, including 𝙪𝙥𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙈𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙚 (𝙈𝘼) 𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙖 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙈𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙁𝙚𝙚-𝙛𝙤𝙧-𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙚 (𝙁𝙁𝙎) 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙢𝙨.
The report describes the measure overview and rationale, data sources, SNF stay construction and inclusion and exclusion criteria, denominator and numerator specifications, risk adjustment methodology, measure calculation algorithm, measure results, and measure testing findings. Additional updates related to the public reporting timeline for the refined measure will be provided at a future date.
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Strong MDS knowledge supports more than accurate coding. It also supports care planning, reimbursement, compliance, quality outcomes, and better resident care.

The virtual AAPACN RAC-CT® Certification Workshop covers the key areas MDS professionals need to understand, including:
• MDS coding for OBRA and PPS
• OBRA timing and scheduling
• Care Area Assessments
• Care planning
• Medicare Part A
• ICD-10-CM coding
• Five-Star and Quality Measures
• Managing PDPM in the SNF

Join us November 10–13, 2026, and take the next step toward earning your RAC-CT credential.
Register here: cstu.io/f3f2aa/

#RACT #MDSEducation #MDSCoordinator #ResidentAssessment #PDPM #LongTermCare #MDSConsultants

Cancellation Policy: The Parties are not responsible for any fees incurred due to cancellations or postponements. Participant cancellations must be submitted in writing via email to workshops@AAPACN.org. Participants who are unable to attend may send a substitute in their place. Cancellations received more than thirty (30) business days prior to the start date of the workshop will receive a full refund. Cancellations received fourteen to thirty (14–30) business days prior to the start date of the workshop will receive a full refund, minus a two-hundred-and-fifty-dollar ($250.00) processing fee, of which two-hundred and twenty-five dollars ($225.00) is paid to Training Partner and twenty-five dollars ($25.00) is paid to Association. No refunds will be issued for cancellations received thirteen (13) business days or less prior to the start date of the Training Workshop except for emergencies or a visit from state surveyors. State surveyors must be present in the participant’s building in order for the participant to receive a refund. Neither party shall issue a refund for any participant’s withdrawal due to weather unless the Training Workshop is cancelled. ... See MoreSee Less