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Long-Term Care Survey Alert
Long-Term Care Survey Alert
Long Term Care Survey Alert - 2013; Volume 15, Number 12
Resident Safety:
Don't Jeopardize Your Facility's Reputation: Pay Close Heed To Sexuality in Long-Term Care
Survey says: Special attention to staff training required. Sex in the facility? It may...
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Section G:
Code ADL Assistance Correctly
CMS offers clarification on “Rule of 3.” If the “Rule of 3” se...
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Sex in Long-Term Care:
Toward a Better Understanding
Those surveyed by AMDA favored a “staff training manual” as the most essenti...
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Sexual Abuse:
A Cautionary Tale
Recently, a federal appeals court upheld a finding of Immediate Jeopardy level penalties...
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Continuing Education:
Check Out These Resources For Staff Training
1) AMDA Survey, available at www.amda.com 2) “Management of Sexual Expression in...
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Diagnosis Spotlight:
Report Pressure Ulcers This Way in ICD-10
You’ll have 149 different pressure ulcer codes in the L89.000 to L89.95 range once...
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Industry Notes
Study: Your Next Dementia Fix Could Be Animal-Assisted Therapy Therapy animals help to...
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Long Term Care Survey Alert - 2013; Volume 15, Number 11
Survey Appeal Provisos:
CMP "Discounts" and "Independent" Appeals? Let the Buyer Beware
Weigh your options before you appeal. Any survey deficiency linked with a civil moneta...
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MDS 3.0:
Tactics to Help You Control Resident Interviews
Here’s how your interview skills for the cognitively impaired can apply to chatty ...
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IIDR Clock:
Stay Ahead with This Countdown
The IIDR clock starts ticking as soon as a CMP is imposed. Be sure that you understand t...
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Should You Self-Report A Deficiency?
A puzzling provision of the Affordable Care Act is one that offers nursing facilities a ...
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Compliance:
Check These Hospice Contracting Resources
Under new requirements, nursing facilities must designate an individual — a clinic...
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Human Resources:
Enhance Your Own and Your Employees' Performance With Properly Scheduled Vacation Time
Keep your brain, body and work ethic in tip-top shape. Become a more productive and ha...
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Industry News:
Get Ready For These jRAVEN Updates
On Sept. 23, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced multiple u...
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Long Term Care Survey Alert - 2013; Volume 15, Number 10
Life Safety Survey:
Caught Short With The Feds' Sprinkler Deadline? Here's How To Proceed
Hundreds are left scrambling toward compliance. Nursing homes marked a deadline five y...
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MDS 3.0:
Get Cracking On Missing/Late Discharge Assessments
Protect your facility from the impact on quality measures. A recent Survey and Certifi...
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Stay Current On All Life Safety Survey Issues
Take note of a second life safety memo released recently by the feds. On August 30, 20...
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Don't Let K Stand For Ka-Ching
Be proactive in addressing the most frequently cited (and costly) life safety K tags in ...
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Staffing Strategies:
Keep Staffing Transitions From Jeopardizing Reimbursement
Ensure process moves smoothly with these 6 tips. Take some time to create fall back ar...
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Nutrition:
Watch How You Code K0510
Don’t trip over K0510D —Therapeutic diet. Take a look at some of the four ...
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Industry News
Keep Up the Good Work in Reducing Antipsychotic Use Your data on Nursing Home Compare ...
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Long Term Care Survey Alert - 2013; Volume 15, Number 9
Compliance:
Hospice on the Horizon: Will New Rule Bring Opportunity -- or a Survey Storm?
Tip: Agreement must spell out circumstances requiring hospice notification. A new fina...
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Compliance:
Beware: Hospice-SNF Relationships Under The Microscope
Learn a valuable lesson from Hernando-Pasco Hospice’s fate. As you work out agre...
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Who Can Elect Hospice? Brush Up On These Medicare/Medicaid Facts
A Medicare beneficiary with Part A who is certified by a physician as being terminall...
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MDS 3.0:
Heed These Recent Changes to MDS Coding
Inappropriate use of dash could get your claim rejected. You could be jeopardizing you...
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MDS 3.0:
Avoid Pain Assessment Coding Pitfalls
Tip: Echo resident’s responses for coding pain frequency. You need to look for c...
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Industry Notes
Assess Whether Your Patients’ Hospitalizations Are Avoidable Your nursing...
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Reader Question:
Sliding Scale Orders
Question: Can you explain why sliding scale orders are not counted as changes in orders?...
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Reader Question:
Accurately Document And Report Negative Outcomes Of Psychotropic Drugs
Question: How do we indicate monitoring of certain drugs? Answer: Since so ...
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Long Term Care Survey Alert - 2013; Volume 15, Number 8
F-441 Compliance:
Adopt These Infection Control Measures and Safeguard Yourself Come Survey Time
Disinfection is the battle cry in the war on c. difficile. A few years have passed sin...
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MDS 3.0:
Get Your Discharge Assessments Right Every Time
Your quality coding and survey outcomes are both at stake. The Centers for Medicare &a...
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Here's How To Know Who's at Risk
Residents with the following characteristics are at increased risk for Clostridium diffi...
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Combat Clostridium Difficile With These Resources
For more information on C. difficile in long-term care settings, take a look at the foll...
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Quality of Care:
How Does Your Facility Rate? Check These Quality Stats
Staffing remains a matter of concern. If the Nursing Home Compare 5-Star Quality Ratin...
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ICD-10 Coding:
Get Encounter Details For Infected Surgical Wounds
Pay attention to 7th character in crosswalk for this diagnosis code. You’ll be g...
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Industry Notes
Medicare Finalizes SNF-Hospice Written Agreement Requirement Home health agencies and ...
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Reader Question:
Create A 'Faith Friendly' Workplace
Question: Many of our employees have asked to celebrate their cultural holidays and pray...
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Reader Question:
Count Days Patient Received Injections
Question: It seems to me that coding injections in N0300 and for insulin again N03...
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Long Term Care Survey Alert - 2013; Volume 15, Number 7
F-Tags:
Take Infection Control Efforts to a New Level -- and Soar on F-441 and F-315 Compliance
Make infection control a priority. Starting this summer, expect surveyors to take a cl...
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Tool:
Cheat Sheet: Here's How to Identify a Symptomatic UTI
Take the guesswork out of your healthcare-associated urinary tract infection diagnoses w...
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Beware Strict F-315 Enforcement Levels
Survey strikes on F-315 are likely to land you with monetary penalties, in part because ...
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Add These UTI Resources To Your Infection Control Arsenal
These are important resources to aid your survey preparedness. 1. &nb...
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SNF PPS 2014:
Fine Tune Scheduling To Meet Calendar Day Criteria
Low impact on therapy reimbursement for SNFs predicted. Heads up: The Centers for Medi...
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MDS 3.0:
Are You Making These Costly ADL Coding Errors?
Correct these 5 Section G mistakes and save your facility thousands in lost pay. Secti...
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Resident Assessment:
Evaluate Your Patients' Mental Status With These 3 Pointers
Key: You’re not using the BIMS to determine the resident’s mood, feelings, p...
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Long Term Care Survey Alert - 2013; Volume 15, Number 6
Survey:
Fight The Good Fight: Stay Focused On F329 Compliance
Antipsychotics are back in the news. Surveyors may soon be scrutinizing with renewed v...
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Tool:
You Can Scale for Describing the Scope and Severity of Behavior
You can rate emerging problem behaviors according to a scale like the one used below&mda...
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Case Study:
Saved By The Bell -- And A Person-Centered Approach To Care
Take a cue from CMS’s surveyor training—and troubleshoot dementia-related be...
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Educate Yourself And Your Staff
The following resources can help ensure that your policies are based on the latest evide...
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Compliance:
7 Steps To Antipsychotic Medication Compliance
Tread carefully when administering antipsychotic medications to your residents. With t...
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Staffing Strategies:
Adapt A Paid-Time-Off Model To Manage Employee Absences
Allow your staff this simple freedom and get out of the babysitting business. If your ...
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Medications:
Ask 8 Questions To Conduct A Thorough Pre-Psychotropic Assessment
Determine the resident’s ‘true needs’ before starting psychotropic med...
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Industry News
You No Longer Need An Inactivation Request For Certain MDS Errors The Centers for Medi...
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Reader Question:
Dementia Interview Criteria
Question: I have several residents who have dementia and are not consistent with their r...
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Reader Question:
What Is A Nonsensical Response?
Question: I’m having a difficulty understanding what a nonsensical response is. Ca...
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Long Term Care Survey Alert - 2013; Volume 15, Number 5
Transition Care:
Rethink Physician Roles to Ensure Compliance, Capture Market Share
Avoid readmissions with these tips. Long-term care providers who wan...
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MDS Coding:
Watch Out: The Patient's Restorative Needs Might Also Require Formal Therapy
Tip: Check patient record carefully before coding. The Restorative Nursing Programs se...
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Tool:
Use These Compliance Cues for Regs Related to Physician Delegation of Tasks
In the real world — especially in a dually-certified facility offering both SNF an...
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O0500 Oops:
Avoid The Most Frequent Blunders
Learn how to properly code for CPM device use. Restorative Nursing Programs is not the...
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MDS Coding:
Tips Help You Choose The Right Quadriplegia Code
Learn the difference between functional and spinal quadriplegia. If you haven&rs...
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Data Storage Strategies:
Ask The Right Document Management System Questions
Look for ease of setup and integration in your paperless system. Most facilities are g...
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Tool:
Form A 'Learning Circle' To Solve Critical Problems
Check out ways this communication method can improve understanding. Whether you need y...
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Clip 'N' Save:
Ask These Questions In Your Learning Circle
Get each person’s response to garner profound insights. SAMPLE LEARNING CIRCLE Q...
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Industry Note:
Industry Note:
Don’t Hold Your Breath for QAPI & ACA-Related Regulations The Centers for Me...
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Long Term Care Survey Alert - 2013; Volume 15, Number 4
Compliance:
Ready or not: New Dining Practice Standards are Now Official
Ready or not: New Dining Practice Standards are Now Official Surveyors are set to view...
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Compliance:
Ensure Your Plan Of Care Meets Medicare Standards
OIG scrutiny intensifies after scathing report. Quality of care is just one of the key...
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Today's Special:
Change
Tune into the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ interest in the new Dini...
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Quality of Care:
See How Your State Ranks In Nursing Home Quality Measures
CMS releases the latest quality data for short- and long-stays. The Centers for Medica...
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Electronic Records:
Ask These Questions Before Acquiring A New EMR System
Ease the transition with these tips. You need to interview your potential vendors to g...
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Management Strategies:
Get Top-Notch Performance By Crafting A Culture Of Accountability
Don’t let your patients or organization suffer. Nip accountability problems in t...
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Industry Notes
Submit Your Suggestions On SNF Therapy Payments If you have ideas about how the Center...
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Long Term Care Survey Alert - 2013; Volume 15, Number 3
F-Tags:
Take The Lead On Your Residents' Advance Directives Or Risk Regulatory Fallout In 2013
Watch for any conflicts between patient and family members on desired care giving and ou...
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Research:
Study Finds Regional Variations in Antipsychotic Use in Nursing Homes
Residents in central south states more likely to get antipsychotic prescriptions. Over...
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Tool:
Take These Steps To Stave Off Citations Under F-Tag 155
In its recent Survey and Certification memo on advance directives, CMS tells surveyors t...
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Business Builder:
Make Savvy Use Of Technology To Ensure Person-Centered Care
Annihilate staff/resident resistance to its incorporation by using these field-tested st...
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SNF ICD-10 Update:
Prep for These Dx Coding Changes for Infected Surgical Wounds
Tip: You must describe the infection to list an additional code. Last month, we brough...
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Staffing Strategies:
Give Your Team A Boost With These 3 Tips
Capitalize on your team’s strengths rather than focusing on weaknesses. Instead ...
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Industry Notes:
Industry Notes:
HHS Lawsuit Settlement Bucks ‘Improvement Standard’ A recent court decisio...
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Reader Question
Question: I have several residents whose charts are exploding. Is it really necessary fo...
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Long Term Care Survey Alert - 2013; Volume 15, Number 2
Survey Strategies:
What You Don't Know (Yet!) About Palliative Care
Get ready for the real test -- and beware: surveyors are one step ahead. Sure, yo...
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SNF ICD-9 Coding:
Present A Clear Picture Of Your Post-op Infection Care
Coding infected surgical wounds need not be a pain. When you code fo...
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Tool:
What Surveyors Want You to Know about Palliative Care
Although many important survey changes affecting palliative care are contained in the CM...
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Tool:
Brush Up On The ABCs Of End-of-Life Care
CMS suggests this short cut to covering the essentials of end-of-life care planning. &...
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MDS 3.0 Corner:
J1100: Test Your Shortness of Breath (Dyspnea) Expertise With 2 Examples
Whether you breathe easy when coding dyspnea scenarios or scratch your head, reviewing t...
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Risk Management:
Gauge Medication Hazards With This Checklist
Find out when meds could put a patient at risk for serious complications. It ...
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Industry Note:
Unencrypted Laptop Leads to ePHI Breach
The Hospice of North Idaho (HONI) will pay $50,000 to the U.S. Department of Health and ...
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Reader Question:
Clear Up Infected Pressure Ulcer Coding
Question: Our patient was admitted to the nursing facility for wound care to a Stage IV ...
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Reader Question:
Get A Therapy V-Code Refresher For SNFs And HHAs
Question: I’ve just relocated to a SNF setting from a hospital outpatient therapy ...
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Reader Question:
Report PT Tech's Services With This Advice
Question: We are currently building out our EMR content and the following questions came...
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Long Term Care Survey Alert - 2013; Volume 15, Number 1
Survey Strategies:
What's Your IQ? Boost Your "Investigative Quotient" To Avoid Costly Citations and Sanctions
Creating a comprehensive record can save the day when surveyors show up. The news isn&...
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Medicare Reimbursement:
Brace for More Medicare Outpatient Therapy Claims Scrutiny
Don’t rely on MACs to let up on reviews while Congress decides next actions. Th...
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Tool:
3 Easily-Missed Factors That May Lead to Errors
Use this chart to uncover hidden glitches as part of your root cause analysis. ...
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Hiring:
3 Tips Point You to the Most Effective MDS Nurse Candidate
Give the potential new hire a mock sample QI/QM report. Hiring an MDS nurse is an expe...
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Nursing Skills:
Look for These 4 Critical Skills When Assessing MDS Nurses
Experts share inside secrets to mastering a demanding role. The MDS coordinator doesn&...
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What Do You Think?
The following Q&As have been provided courtesy of Marilyn Mines, RN, BSN, RAC-CT, BC...
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Personnel Management:
5 Tips Alleviate Your Stress This Holiday Season
Get into the spirit of giving -- without undue stress on your psyche or your wallet...
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