Long-Term Care Survey Alert

Hint: Don't save the worst for last.

A pre-exit interview can help turn around a survey heading in the wrong direction. When the surveyors' concerns rise to "actual harm," arrange a private discussion with the survey team leader, the director of nursing, administrator and medical director, suggested Harold Bob, MD, CMD, in comments at the recent American Medical Directors Association annual meeting in Dallas. The pre-exit approach avoids an exit rife with conflict. And it leaves the process open and helps you focus on whether there was a deficiency of care--and, perhaps more importantly, the scope and severity, he said.