MDS Alert

MDS 3.0 :

CMS Unveils a New Draft MDS 3.0 Data Item SetWith ADL Changes and CATs

Find out 2 key differences in this latest version.

The month of May proved to be a fruitful one for providing a preview of what's to come under the new RUGs and the MDS 3.0 that will drive it.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services posted a revised draft item set for the MDS 3.0 in the same timeframe as the proposed SNF PPS rule debuting RUG-IV.

In the new MDS 3.0 draft item set, CMS returns to the 2.0 methodology for scoring ADLs (self-performance and support), although there are some differences. The coding now includes a code of "7" for activity occurred only once or twice (see the draft ADL section on the next page of this issue).

Although the proposed RUG-IV would do away with the rehab therapy projection, Section T is still on the MDS 3.0 draft, which consultant Pauline Franko, PT, MCSP, says she found surprising.

RAPs Are Out, CATs Are In

The draft 3.0 includes Care Area Triggers in lieu of Resident Assessment Protocols. The draft doesn't tell you what triggers the CATs or how they work, however, says Franko, president and owner of Encompass Consulting & Education LLC in Tamarac, Fla.

The list of CATs "mirror the RAPs" but adds pain and return to community referral, she adds.

CMS notes that the final MDS 3.0 version is slated for publication in October 2009. CMS cautions against using the draft for training.

The MDS 3.0 is set for implementation on Oct. 1, 2010.

Resource: To download the draft item set, visit www.cms.hhs.gov/NursingHomeQualityInits/25_NHQIMDS30.asp.

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