MDS Alert

Remember to echo and clarify to determine the right answer.

Because your coding of item F0400 — Interview for Daily Preferences relies on responses from the resident, the right answer to code isn’t always clear. Test your F0400 coding know-how with these scenarios from the RAI Manual, and then turn to page 48 to see the correct answers:

Scenario #1: To code item F0400A, you ask the resident, “How important is it to you to choose what clothes to wear (including hospital gowns or other garments provided by the facility?)”

The resident replies, “It’s very important. I’ve always paid attention to my appearance.”

Scenario #2: To code item F0400B, you ask the resident, “How important is it to you to take care of your personal belongings or things?”

The resident replies, “All my important things are at home.”

So you clarify, “Your most important things are at home. Do you have any other things while you’re here that you think are important to take care of yourself?”

The resident responds, “Well, my son brought me this CD player so I can listen to music. It’s very important to me to take care of that.”

Scenario #3: To code item F0400C, you ask the resident, “How important is it to you to choose between a tub bath, shower, bed bath, or sponge bath?”

The resident replies, “I don’t really have a choice. I like only sponge baths, but I have to take a shower twice a week.”

You ask, “So how important is it to you to be able to choose to have a sponge bath while you’re here?”

The resident responds, “Well, it’s very important, but I don’t always have a choice because that’s the rule here.”

Scenario #4: To code item F0400D, you ask the resident, “How important is it to you to have snacks available between meals?”

The resident replies, “Well, I’m a diabetic. So I guess it’s somewhat important that I have snacks.”

Scenario #5: To code item F0400E, you ask the resident, “How important is it to you to choose your own bedtime?”

The resident responds, “At home, I used to like to stay up a bit at night and watch television. But here I’m usually in bed by 8:00pm because the nurses wake me up so early.”

You clarify, “You used to stay up later, but now you go to bed before 8:00pm because you get up so early. Would you say it’s [pointing to cue card] very important, somewhat important, not very important, not important at all, or that it’s important but you don’t have choice about your bedtime?”

The resident responds, “I guess it would be important, but I can’t stay up because the staff wake me up so early in the morning for therapy and by 8:00pm, I’m tired.”

Scenario #6: To code item F0400F, you ask the resident, “How important is it to you to have your family or a close friend involved in discussions about your care?”

The resident says, “They’re not involved. They live in the city and they’ve got to take care of their own families.”

You say, “You said that your family and close friends aren’t involved right now. When you think about what you would prefer, would you say that it’s very important, somewhat important, not very important, not important at all, or that it’s important but you have no choice or can’t have them involved in decisions about your care?”

The resident responds, “It’s somewhat important.”

Scenario #7: To code item F0400G, you ask the resident, “How important is it to you to be able to use the phone in private?”

The resident replies, “That’s not a problem for me, because I have my own room. I can always just shut the door for privacy.”

You clarify, “So you can shut your door to make a phone call in private. If you had to rate how important it is to be able to use the phone in private, would you say it’s very important, somewhat important, not very important, or not important at all?”

The resident responds, “I don’t have much to hide. It’s not very important.”

Scenario #8: To code item F0400H you ask the resident, “How important is it to you to have a place to lock your things to keep them safe?”

The resident says, “I have a safe deposit box at my bank, and that’s where I keep family heirlooms and personal documents.”

You say, “While you’re staying here, how important is it to you to have a drawer or locker here?”

The resident responds, “It’s not very important. I’m fine with keeping all my valuables at the bank.”