Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CDC, in collaboration with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), just launched a new Nursing Home Infection Preventionist Training course. This specialized nursing home training is designed for individuals responsible for infection prevention and control (IPC) programs in nursing homes. The course covers:…… Continue reading New CDC Nursing Home Infection Preventionist Training with Free CE

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare May 29, 2019 saw the latest refresh of Nursing Home Compare (NHC) – the first report card of the spring. This past week saw additional report cards being published by various sources.  They are each important in their own way.  Take a look: Families’ and…… Continue reading Report Cards are Out

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report this week that found incidents of potential abuse and neglect at Skilled Nursing Facilities were not always reported and investigated.  The Report in Brief found that an estimated one in five high-risk hospital ER Medicare claims…… Continue reading OIG Report: Abuse and Neglect of Medicare Beneficiaries

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS posted this notification initially the evening of Saturday, May 18th and again this forenoon: “The PDF file labeled “MDS 3.0 RAI Manual v1.17 October 1, 2019” is now available in the Related Links section below. Please note this early release is being provided in…… Continue reading Early Release of October 2019 RAI User’s Manual Just Posted by CMS

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Training materials for the upcoming 2-day Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Provider Training event on May 7, and Wednesday, May 8, at the Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center, 2345 McGee Street, Kansas City, MO 64108, are now available under the…… Continue reading SNF QRP Provider Training Materials Posted

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The Office of Inspector General (OIG) just posted a data brief for its analysis of “nursing home deficiencies that were identified by State survey agencies (State agencies) across the Nation for calendar years 2013 through 2017 (review period). This data brief offers the Centers for…… Continue reading OIG Issues Trends in Nursing Home Deficiencies Report

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS made this announcement on May 1, 2019: “Skilled Nursing Facility Provider Preview Reports have been updated and are now available. Providers have until May 30, 2019 to review their performance data prior to the July 2019 Nursing Home Compare site refresh, during which this…… Continue reading SNF Provider Preview Reports Now Available

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare If you’re involved in water safety for buildings, you’ll want to take advantage of a new and free training program developed by CDC and partners on creating a water management program to reduce the risk for Legionnaires’ disease in facilities. The Preventing Legionnaires’ Disease: A…… Continue reading Training on Legionella Water Management Programs Now Available

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS posted this policy change today: “The current CMS policy for submission of patient assessment records allows providers to submit records for up to 36 months from the assessment target date. Effective October 1, 2019, the CMS policy for patient assessment submission will be changed…… Continue reading CMS Policy Change for Assessment Submission Time Frame Announced Today