MDS Alert
Should You Always Do a Significant Change in Status Assessment for SNF Readmissions from the Hospital?
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Question: Should our facility always do an SCSA combined with a readmission assessment for a Part A-stay resident who had an admission assessment transmitted before being discharged to the hospital (return anticipated) for several days and readmitted to the SNF? Answer: "No," says Judy Wilhide Brandt, RN, BA, C-NE, RAC-MT, principal of Judy Wilhide MDS Consulting in Virginia Beach, Va. "While it is always a good idea to consider [doing an] SCSA upon return, it is always a clinical determination and should only be done if the resident meets the criteria for a significant change." The RAI User's Manual defines a significant change as "a decline or improvement in a resident's status that:
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