Long-Term Care Survey Alert

Nursing home providers will soon have the option to spend less time doing Medicare MDS assessments, which can mean more time for patient care.

In July, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is implementing an abbreviated (3.5 page) Medicare PPS Assessment Form (MPAF), which facilities can use in lieu of the full minimum data set to classify patients into resource utilization groups or RUGs.

CMS says it designed the shorter form to reduce the assessment burden on nursing facility providers.

The OBRA assessment requirements supersede the use of the abbreviated form, however, CMS says. Thus, when facilities complete an assessment for both OBRA and Medicare purposes, they must complete the items required by OBRA and PPS plus any state-specific items, such as Section S.

"Once the MPAF is in effect, facilities will still have the option of using the longer MDS for PPS," Sandra Fitzler, director of clinical services for the American Health Care Association, tells Eli.

When facilities do submit a full assessment for PPS purposes only, the extra MDS items (those not on the MPAF form) will not be edited or stored in the state database, CMS says.

When facilities perform a PPS assessment combined with an OBRA admission assessment, for example, they must use the full assessment form.

The specific forms required would include:

assessment tracking form

background face sheet

full MDS assessment form

Resident Assessment Protocol summary form (Section V)

PPS therapy supplement (Section T)

Section S if required by the state.

Editors Note: Download the MPAF at: http://hcfa.gov/medicaid/mds20/man-form.htm.