Is your facility up to speed on the latest RAIUser's Manual update for coding UTIs?
Important: Make sure the physicians provide some documented rationale in the clinical record as to the laboratory findings and whether a culture is warranted and supports a diagnosis of UTI,advises Jane Belt, MS,RN, managing consultant with Plante & Moran Clinical Group in Columbus, Ohio. The facility could obtain an explanatory statement as part of a telephone order, suggests Marilyn Mines, RN, RAC-CT,BC, manager of clinical services for FR&R Healthcare Consulting in Deerfield, Ill. As an example, the statement might read: "Keflex 500 mg tid for 10 days for symptomatic UTI (concentrated,odorous urine) with abnormal U/A lab results."
MDS 3.0 preparation will be heating up again in October.
That's when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid expects to publish the final MDS 3.0 data specifications,RUGs, RAP triggers and QIs/QMs, according to the agency's new timeline. It will also publish the MDS 3.0 data elements, which includes admission, quarterly, swing bed and discharge MDSs. Also look for publication of the MDS 3.0 RAI Manual. MDS 3.0 implementation is set for Oct. 1, 2010.