Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Just this morning (Monday, August 22, 2022), CMS posted the Press Release with the same title as this blog. Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an informational bulletin detailing actions that states can take using existing Medicaid authorities to drive better health…… Continue reading CMS Encourages States to Use Medicaid Payments to Nursing Homes to Drive Better Health Outcomes for Residents, Improve Staffing

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS posted an updated PDPM ICD Codes database for the MDS V3.00.1 (FINAL) Data Specifications is now available for download under the Downloads section at the bottom of this webpage.  The database contains two new tables.  The table pdpm_icd_codes_FY2023 contains the allowed FY2023 codes for I0020B, while table…… Continue reading FY2023 ICD-10 codes for MDS V3.00.1 (FINAL) Data Submission Specifications Posted

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The August update of Appendix B to the RAI 3.0 User’s Manual contains changes to the list of State RAI Coordinators, MDS Automation Coordinators, RAI Panel members, and CMS locations and contacts.  Appendix B was updated by CMS on August 19, 2022. The updated Appendix B, dated…… Continue reading August 2022 Updates to RAI User’s Manual – Appendix B

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Yesterday, I blogged on the ONC Interoperability Survey of SNFs. This survey is extremely important and you participation is needed!  The US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has contracted with a data analytics and…… Continue reading Your Participation in ONC Interoperability Survey is Needed!

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare These items have been added to the OIG work plan this month (August): “Understanding skilled nursing facilities’ (SNFs’) costs is crucial to understanding the factors that contribute to nursing home performance and how nursing homes deliver care to beneficiaries. The cost of services, facilities, and supplies…… Continue reading Recent Additions to OIG Work Plan

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Attention: MDS Coordinators, Reimbursement Specialists, Facility Owners and Management Teams. This is a news release you need to read.  Falsifying MDS assessments has very serious consequences as does falsifying staffing records! “Five individuals and two for-profit skilled nursing facilities in Southwestern Pennsylvania have been indicted by…… Continue reading Five Individuals and Two Nursing Facilities Indicted on Charges of Conspiracy to Defraud the United States and Health Care Fraud

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS has posted the Specifications for the Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing (SNF VBP) Program Total Nursing Hours per Resident Day Measure. This is a 9-page document. Please be sure to download this document and share/review with your team, including the MDS Coordinator and PBJ…… Continue reading CMS Posts Specifications for SNF VBP Total Nursing Hours per Resident Day Measure

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare IQVIA is conducting a survey for the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology to assess skilled nursing facility (SNF) capabilities related to interoperability, electronically exchanging information across organizations and systems. This may improve care transitions between acute-care and post-acute care facilities. Why participate? Your…… Continue reading Skilled Nursing Facilities: Participate in Interoperability Survey

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare If you listened to the August 4, 2022 CMS SNF/LTC Open Door Forum, you heard the announcement from Ellen Berry of CMS that SNFs/LTCs will transition to the iQIES system in early 2023. 3 PAC providers have already made this transition to submit OASIS (HH),…… Continue reading Onboarding Schedule for MDS Transition to iQIES

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The SNF Provider Threshold Report in the ‘SNF Quality Reporting Program’ report category in the CASPER Reporting application is unavailable. An issue has been identified with the display of HCP COVID-19 Vaccine data submission results. In some cases, the report display may indicate that HCP…… Continue reading SNF QRP Provider Threshold Report Unavailable