As we all know, October is here, and along with it comes many changes for the long-term care industry. The MDS Changes are upon us, and The Compliance Store has all the latest information your facility needs to make this transition easy for your staff.

What Is The MDS?

The Minimum Data Set is the federally mandated process for clinical assessment of all residents in Medicare and Medicaid-certified nursing homes. This assessment serves to determine each resident’s functional capabilities and helps staff to identify potential health problems.

The MDS lies within the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI), which allows nursing home staff to gather information on a resident’s individual strengths and needs. The RAI also consists of Care Area Assessments (CAA) and Utilization Guidelines.

Understanding the mds Changes

This year’s revisions are much more significant than in the past. Listed below are just some of the MDS changes that are active as of October 1, 2023.

• Section G was removed and replaced with Section GG for both OBRA and PPS assessments with specific timing in relation to each type of assessment.
• Updates to the MDS also include revised and new data items and coding tips to help facilities accurately capture resident information and conduct appropriate care planning, ensuring resident care and services are provided.
• Revisions to the pain interview questions in Section J were expanded to not only capture if pain disrupted the resident’s sleep and day-to-day activities but also if pain disrupted their rehabilitation therapy if indicated.
• The high-risk medication category in Section N has been expanded and revised to capture if a resident has received any of those particular types of medications and has a documented indication for use.
• CMS also expanded the unique special treatments, procedures, and programs in Section O to capture more specific data.

New items were also added to the MDS including several data elements that deal with social determinants of health, such as transportation, health literacy, and social isolation. Race and ethnicity were broadened to capture more precise information as part of the social determinants of health. These elements, along with medication reconciliation to the provider or resident at discharge, will be part of the information captured that can affect SNF Quality Reporting Program measures in the future.

Now the time has come for these changes, along with others not listed here, to be implemented in facilities across the United States. Facilities need to ensure that their staff members responsible for MDS data input know and understand the MDS changes in the RAI manual and its guidance for accurate data coding.

We Can Help!

The Compliance Store has been relentlessly reviewing and revising its tools and policies to ensure these changes are noted and easily accessible for those we serve. We have added a new policy concerning the social determinants of health and a new approach that addresses the transfer of health information data that facilities now have to collect for the Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program (SNF QRP).

If you have any questions about MDS Changes or how we can help your facility stay compliant, contact us online or at (877)-582-7347.