Long-Term Care Survey Alert

Industry News:

Hurrah! Most Residents Are Participating In Interviews

You’re doing some great work in ensuring that your residents’ voices are heard when it comes to MDS 3.0 assessments. So says a March 13 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association (JAMDA).

More than 83 percent of long-stay nursing home residents attempted all three self-report clinical items in the MDS, the study found. The study compiled data from MDS annual assessments for 757,044 residents in 15,030 nursing homes during 2011 through 2012. Researchers tested the attempt rate of resident interviews for three clinical domains: cognition, mood, and pain.

The attempt rate for the pain self-assessment was 92 percent, while the rates for mood and cognition were 88 percent and 89 percent, respectively. The researchers discovered that residents in smaller, chain-affiliated nursing homes with fewer Medicare residents and fewer assessments per administrative nurse/registered nurse were more likely to attempt the resident interview items.

Additionally, the study revealed that certain resident characteristics seem to reduce the likelihood of participating in interviews — specifically, having a diagnosis of dementia or cognitive impairment, exhibiting signs of delirium, and having a documented prognosis of six months or less to live.

To access the study entitled, “Finding Gertrude: The Resident’s Voice in Minimum Data Set 3.0,” go to www.jamda.com/article/S1525-8610(14)00087-5/abstract

Update Your Emergency Preparedness Checklist

If you utilize CMS’s Emergency Preparedness Checklist — Recommended Tool for Effective Health Care Facility Planning, then you need to access the now-updated version.

On Feb. 28, CMS issued a Survey & Certification (S&C) notice (S&C-14-12-ALL) announcing that it has revised the checklist. The revisions include more detailed guidance regarding resident tracking, supplies, and collaboration. 

Link: You can view the S&C notice at www.cms.gov/Medicare/Provider-Enrollment-and-Certification/SurveyCertificationGenInfo/Downloads/Survey-and-Cert-Letter-14-12.pdf.