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MDS & Survey News

Is your facility complying with Preadmission Screening and Resident Review (PASRR) for mental illness and/or retardation (MI/MR) requirements? The Health & Human Services' Office of Inspector General has found shortfalls in PASRR, a Medicaid program designed to identify individuals with serious MI/MR who apply to or reside in a nursing facility (NF), according to a recent Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' survey & certification memo on the subject.

According to the memo, an NF must not admit people with MI or MR (as defined by the regulation), unless the state mental health/mental retardation or developmental disabilities authority has determined the person's placement in a NF is appropriate, and if the person requires specialized MI/MR services. The state must do the screens, prepare the PASRR report and provide or arrange for the resident's specialized services. NFs are not in compliance if individuals with possible MI/MR were admitted without complete PASRR Level II documentation indicating that the admission was appropriate. The state is required to provide a copy of the PASRR report to the NF. (The PASRR report includes determinations and an evaluation report collectively known as PASRR Level II, states the memo.) The OIG recommends state surveyors (1) sample residents with serious MI or MR; (2) review all PASRR documentation for timely completion; and (3) review care plans for incorporation of all Level II PASRR service recommendations. Read the survey & cert memo at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/SurveyCertificationGenInfo/downloads/SCLetter07-38.pdf.

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