Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP  Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The submission deadline for the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) is approaching. MDS assessment data for January 1 – March 31 (Q1) of CY 2021 is due with this submission deadline. All data must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. on August…… Continue reading SNF QRP August 16, 2021 Submission Deadline Reminder

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare This was the agenda for the ODF yesterday: FY 2022 SNF PPS Final RuleHealth Equity in LTC regulationsRural Emergency Hospitals – Request for InformationModernizing CMS Payment Softwarehttps://www.cms.gov/files/document/medicare-modernization-payment-software.pdf  iQIES user researchPBJ reminderPolicy Questions should be sent to NHStaffing@cms.hhs.govTechnical Issues/Questions should be sent to iqies@cms.hhs.govPBJ Website: https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/NursingHomeQualityInits/Staffing-Data-Submission-PBJ.html If you want to…… Continue reading What Happened During the August 5th SNF/LTC Open Door Forum

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The next CMS Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF)/Long Term Care (LTC) Open Door Forum scheduled for:   Date:  Thursday, August 5, 2021 Start Time:  2:00 PM – 3:00 PM Eastern Time (ET) This call will be Conference Call Only. To participate by phone: Dial: 1-888-455-1397 & Conference…… Continue reading SNF/LTC Open Door Forum Agenda Updated

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare AMDA (The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine – Medical Directors) has posted a position statement on appropriate staffing standards for PAC and LTC.  It’s a thoughtful and interesting 4-page read.  The position statement is dated July 22, 2021.  I’ve added bolding to highlight the…… Continue reading Appropriate Staffing Standards in Post-Acute and Long-Term Care

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Since the launch of the National Partnership, significant reductions in the prevalence of antipsychotic medication use in long-stay nursing home residents have been documented.  The National Partnership continues to work with state coalitions and nursing homes to reduce that rate even further. Recently, CMS announced a…… Continue reading Antipsychotic Medication Use Data

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare OIG (Office of Inspector General) posted this report (same title as this blog) on July 27, 2021.  The report is a 4-page addendum to the December 2020 report. OIG analyzed CMS administrative data on standard surveys that States conducted from February 1, 2020, through May…… Continue reading OIG Report: States’ Backlogs of Standard Surveys of Nursing Homes Grew Substantially During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare In case you’re looking for the coming fiscal years’ wage index, you’ll find the Final index here.  CMS posted the final on July 29, 2021.  The proposed wage index is here in case you want to do some comparison between the two. Bookmark this Wage…… Continue reading FY2022 SNF PPS Federal Wage Index