MDS Alert

Question: What’s the difference between individual therapy and concurrent therapy? Are they both considered modes of therapy?

Nebraska Subscriber

Answer: The RAI Manual notes that therapy can be conducted in individual, concurrent, or group modes. “When developing the plan of care, the therapist and assistant must determine which mode(s) of therapy and the amount of time the resident receives for each mode and code the MDS appropriately. The therapist and assistant should document the reason a specific mode of therapy was chosen as well as anticipated goals for that mode of therapy,” the RAI Manual says, on page O-23.

For the MDS, make sure that the therapy in question meets one of the following definitions, otherwise any minutes accrued cannot be counted. “The therapy mode definitions must always be followed and apply regardless of when the therapy is provided in relationship to all assessment windows (i.e., applies whether or not the resident is in a look-back period for an MDS assessment),” the RAI Manual says.

Individual therapy is provided on an individual basis.

Concurrent therapy is provided when two or more residents receive therapy at the same time, regardless of payer source, but are performing different activities in line of the sight of a therapist or assistant therapist. Note: Medicare Part B beneficiaries may not receive therapy concurrently.

Group therapy for Part A beneficiaries is defined as the treatment of two to six residents who are performing similar or the same activities, regardless of payer source, being supervised by the same therapist or assistant. For Part B beneficiaries, group therapy includes the treatment of two or more residents, regardless of payer source, at the same time.