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...
🎉 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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"Careers in Aging Month is dedicated to bringing greater awareness and visibility to the wide-ranging career opportunities in long term care and aging services, and to celebrate current employees in the profession." Let's celebrate our certified nursing assistants, nurses, activity professionals, social workers, therapy services, dining staff, housekeeping, and administrative staff with careers in aging.
cstu.io/485e08 ... See MoreSee Less
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🚨CMS hosted an PBJ Technical informational Call for Software Vendors and Developers on Thursday, February 26, 2026. Please see the attached minutes.
cstu.io/c18118 ... See MoreSee Less
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𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗔𝗗𝗢𝗡𝗔!
MDS Consultants is excited to both present and exhibit at this year’s PADONA Conference — and we can’t wait to connect with you.
🎤 Jessica Stucin, RN, RAC-MT, DNS-MT, QCP-MT
Director of Education
🎤 Kristine Martinez, RN, RAC-CT
Assistant Director of Education
𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴:
“GG Done Right: Building a Process That Works”
Section GG accuracy continues to impact reimbursement, quality measures, and survey outcomes. In this session, Jessica and Kristine will walk through practical strategies to build a sustainable, interdisciplinary process that supports both compliance and resident-centered care.
📍 Visit us at Booth #70
Stop by to connect with our team and pick up a complimentary Functional Abilities Tool to help strengthen your Section GG processes and support your interdisciplinary team.
We look forward to seeing you at PADONA!
#PADONA #SectionGG #MDS #LongTermCare #SkilledNursing #PDPM #MDSConsultants ... See MoreSee Less
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The Five-Star rating preview reports for nursing homes were made available in iQIES on March 19, 2026. Nursing Home Care Compare will update with the March Five-Star data on or around March 25, 2026.
Important Note: The Five-Star Helpline (800-839-9290) will be available March 23-27, 2026. For assistance logging into iQIES, please contact the iQIES Service Center via email (iQIES@cms.hhs.gov) or by phone (800-339-9313).https://cstu.io/9f3d06 ... See MoreSee Less
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Spring Cleaning… but for Documentation 🌷
Spring is a good reminder that sometimes documentation needs a little cleanup too.
A few quick things facilities may want to review:
• Are care plans reflecting the resident’s current status?
• Does documentation support the coded MDS items?
• Are disciplines documenting consistently across the IDT?
• Are older notes still being copied forward when they shouldn’t be?
Just like spring cleaning at home, small updates can make a big difference.
Clear documentation helps the entire team —and tells the resident’s story the way it should.
#LongTermCare #MDS #SNFLeadership #DocumentationMatters #MDSCONSULTANTS #MDSEDUCATION ... 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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Medication management continues to be a key compliance focus in skilled nursing facilities.
Monitoring high-risk medications, evaluating opportunities for gradual dose reductions, and strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration are all important steps in supporting resident safety and regulatory compliance.
If your team is reviewing medication monitoring practices, there are also practical tools and resources that can help support those efforts.
To explore this topic further, join the upcoming webinar:
Spring Clean Your Medication Systems: Reduce Risk with Team Alignment
📅 March 24
🎓 Designed for Administrators, Directors of Nursing, MDS Coordinators, Clinical Nurse Managers, and interdisciplinary team members.
Register here:
👉 cstu.io/f31295
#LongTermCare
#SkilledNursing
#MedicationManagement
#MDS
#NursingLeadership
#InterdisciplinaryCare
#ltcleadership ... See MoreSee Less
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Medication management remains one of the most important compliance focus areas in skilled nursing facilities.
𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸’𝘀 𝗧𝘂𝗲𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗧𝗶𝗽: Compliance Edition, we highlight the importance of monitoring high-risk medications, evaluating gradual dose reductions, and strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration to support resident safety and regulatory compliance.
If your team is reviewing medication monitoring processes, there are also practical tools and resources that can help support those efforts.
To explore this topic further, join the upcoming webinar:
Spring Clean Your Medication Systems: Reduce Risk with Team Alignment
📅 March 24
🎓 Designed for Administrators, Directors of Nursing, MDS Coordinators, Clinical Nurse Managers, and interdisciplinary team members.
Register here:
👉 cstu.io/f31295
#LongTermCare #SkilledNursing #MedicationManagement #MDS #NursingLeadership #InterdisciplinaryCare #LTCLeadership ... See MoreSee Less
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