Revised Surveyor Guidance
Revised surveyor guidance for surveying Nutrition and Sanitary Conditions requirements in long-term care facilities became effective on September 1, 2008. A final copy of this new guidance will be available here (go to Appendix PP of the State Operations Manual) and ultimately incorporated into Appendix PP of the State Operations Manual. Corresponding Automated Survey Process Environment (ASPEN) changes are in place. Get a copy of this guidance and training slides. Read an article on this topic from Today's Dietitian.
MDS 3.0 versus MDS 2.0 Comparison Crosswalk
CMS released the draft MDS 3.0 versus MDS 2.0 Comparison Crosswalk. According to CMS and as stated in the crosswalk, "This draft crosswalk provides information to assist in the transition to the MDS 3.0. This crosswalk is a draft and does not contain the final list of MDS 3.0 items. Ongoing research and analysis could result in items being deleted or revised or in the addition of new items. The final list of MDS 3.0 items will be available by March, 2009. This crosswalk introduces the new MDS 3.0 item numbering scheme, identifies the differences between potential 3.0 items and 2.0 items, as well as identifying applications that utilized the specific MDS 2.0 items. To assist in the review of the crosswalk, columns are identified below along with a brief description of each column and the draft MDS 3.0 dropped items list."
View the entire cross walk.
Trends in NH Deficiencies and Complaints
This memorandum report describes the nature and extent of nursing home deficiencies and complaints in 2007 and identifies trends from 2005 to 2007. This study is part of the Office of Inspector General's (OIG) continuing commitment to addressing the quality of care in nursing homes. In the past 3 years, over 91% of nursing homes surveyed were cited for deficiencies and a greater percentage of for-profit nursing homes were cited than not-for-profit and government nursing homes. The most common deficiency categories cited were quality of care, resident assessment, and quality of life. Additionally, 17 percent of nursing homes surveyed in 2007 were cited for actual harm or immediate jeopardy deficiencies, and 3.6 percent were cited for substandard quality-of-care deficiencies-a slight increase since 2005. Get the facts on deficiencies and complaints.
MDS 2.0 Manuals and Forms Revisions
* October 2008 revisions to the MDS 2.0 RAI User's Manual are available under, Downloads, "RAI Manual
October Update 2008".
* MPAF Forms: The MPAF forms have been relocated and are available below under, "Downloads, MDS All
Forms".
* Appendix B: This is the source to retrieve updated versions of the State RAI Coordinators & Automation
Coordinators lists. Go to the CMS website to download these important documents. Get more information
on the new MDS 3.0.