Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare® This morning CMS posted several new documents to the Reform of Requirements for Long-Term Care Facilities website. Trying to keep all the LTC Survey Process documents and files straight? Can’t figure out what is new/changed with a specific document? CMS has uploaded a new document…… Continue reading Survey Process Document Updates Posted

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare® The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) conducted the annual SNF QRP Training Sessions this week (July 31st and August 1st) live in and from Baltimore, MD. Approximately 250 attendees were present for the in-person training while another 1000+ logged on to view &…… Continue reading SNF Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Training and Resources

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare® The next CMS Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF)/Long Term Care (LTC) Open Door Forum scheduled for: Date:  Thursday, August 2, 2018 Start Time:  2:00 PM – 3:00 PM Eastern Time (ET) Open Door Participation Instructions: This call will be Conference Call Only. To participate by phone:…… Continue reading Today: CMS Skilled/LTC Open Door Forum

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare® Just a few minutes ago, CMS posted 3 final rules, including that for SNF PPS. “The Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF) PPS final rule incorporates the agency’s Patients Over Paperwork initiative through avenues that reduce unnecessary burden on providers by easing documentation requirements and offering more…… Continue reading CMS Posts FY 2019 SNF PPS Final Rule

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare® Curious as to what constitutes the technical specs for the claims-based Quality Measures on Nursing Home Compare – your Five-Star rating? Are there covariates or risk adjustments? What data is used for my facility’s rating on NHC? Is any MDS data used for these claims-based…… Continue reading Updated Nursing Home Compare Claims-Based Quality Measure Technical Specifications

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare® CMS has just posted an updated Long Term Care Survey Process Procedure Guide that carries an effective date of August 5, 2018. This guide is 2 pages longer, overall than the document we’re currently referencing with an effective date of May 6, 2018. It should…… Continue reading Updated LTCSP Procedure Guide – Effective August 5, 2018

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare® CMS released an updated Survey & Certification notice – now identified as QSO-17-30- Hospitals/CAHs/NHs  – on Friday, July 6, 2018.  The subject of this QSO is: Requirement to Reduce Legionella Risk in Healthcare Facility Water Systems to Prevent Cases and Outbreaks of Legionnaires’ Disease (LD).…… Continue reading Requirement to Reduce Legionella Risk in Healthcare Facility Water Systems Revised July 2018

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare® On June 22, 2018, CMS announced updates related to Nursing Home Compare, Payroll-Based Journal data and the Health Inspection Rating Freeze. The announcement was made via an Open Door Forum email to subscribers. Long-Stay Hospitalization Quality Measure CMS continues to focus on reducing hospitalizations to…… Continue reading Nursing Home Compare and Payroll-Based Journal Data Updates

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare® CMS has just posted a SNF Value-Based Purchasing Program FAQ document. “The Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing (SNF VBP) Program awards incentive payments to SNFs based on their performance on the Program’s measure of readmissions. SNF VBP payment incentives will be included on Medicare Part…… Continue reading Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing Program: Frequently Asked Questions