Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare® In November 2018, CMS posted information on the Civil Money Penalty Reinvestment Program (CMPRP) – a three-year effort to reduce adverse events, improve staffing quality and improve dementia care in nursing homes.   At that time, the 1st of 3 toolkits was posted “to aid nursing…… Continue reading CMS Posts Second CMPRP Toolkit: Nursing Home Employee Satisfaction Survey

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare® The February 14, 2019 SNF/LTC Open Door Forum – the 1st one held in 2019 – had a last minute agenda item added along with the agenda that was posted. The ODF lasted only 30 minutes. I’m providing you with the key items I heard…… Continue reading Takeaways from Today’s SNF/LTC Open Door Forum

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare® During this call, participants learn about the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program Review and Corrections process and get answers to frequently asked questions about Phase One of the process. During the Review and Corrections period, SNFs have an opportunity to review and submit…… Continue reading SNF Value-Based Purchasing Program: Phase One Review and Corrections Call

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare® CMS has just posted the SNF LTC Open Door Forum for the afternoon of February 14, 2019: Date: Thursday, February 14, 2019 Start Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM Eastern Time (ET) This call will be Conference Call Only.  To participate by phone: Dial: 1-800-837-1935 &…… Continue reading SNF/LTC Open Door Forum Scheduled – February 14, 2019

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare® OIG (Office of Inspector General) issued a report last week entitled CMS Guidance to State Survey Agencies on Verifying Correction of Deficiencies Needs to be Improved to Help Ensure the Health and Safety of Nursing Home Residents.   OIG looked at a sample of 700 deficiencies. …… Continue reading CMS Guidance to State Survey Agencies – Verifying Correction of Deficiencies

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare® Friday, February 8, 2019, CMS posted Transmittal 2252/Change Request 11152 along with MLN Matters Number: MM11152.  I recommend reviewing the 3-page MLN Matters document first as it describes clearly what CR11152 is addressing. In short, “CR 11152 effectuates changes to the SNF Prospective Payment System (PPS)…… Continue reading Implementation of the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM)

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare® A new web-based Health Care Facilities National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) training session is available on the CMS Survey and Certification Integrated Surveyor Training website. “The NFPA 99 online training will be a self-paced, on-demand, asynchronous Federal training for all surveyors who have completed the necessary…… Continue reading National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Health Care Facilities Code Web-Based Training

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare® CMS’ MLN (Medicare Learning Network) Events is hosting a national call on Tuesday, March 12, 2019, from 1:30 to 3 pm (ET).  Register now for this important call. During this call, gain insight on the Dementia Care & Psychotropic Medication Tracking Tool, a free, publicly available…… Continue reading Dementia Care & Psychotropic Medication Tracking Tool Call

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare® CMS’ Medicare Learning Network (MLN) has posted an updated Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System booklet for providers.  In this 12-page informational booklet, you’ll find helpful information about these SNF PPS topics: Pages 8 and 9 contain great graphics/charts to determine consolidated billing.  Page 12 contains…… Continue reading Updated SNF PPS Medicare Learning Network Booklet Available

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare® Late this afternoon, CMS posted the data specifications for version 1.17 that is being implemented on October 1, 2019.   They also posted the new version of the Care Area Triggers (CAT) which includes the updated Nutritional Status CAT for the Item Sets that will be implemented…… Continue reading MDS 3.0 Version 1.17 Data Specs and Updated Nutritional Status CAT Posted