MDS Alert
Subscriber Q&A
Question: If a Medicare Part A resident is admitted to my facility for fewer than five days and receives therapy for the duration of her stay, could she be assessed and qualify for a RH RUG rate? – Pennsylvania subscriber Answer: "To qualify for the RH, residents need five separate days by the same discipline and at least 325 minutes to qualify. If the resident is admitted for exactly five days, it's possible, because Medicare will allow you to use the minutes captured on day of discharge. "You can use the minutes if the ARD is also set on this date, however, the facility won't be able to collect reimbursement for this final day because the resident was discharged. The benefit of using these minutes is that it allows you to capture a higher payment for the previous days (in this case, days 1-4). "The other option is to use the short stay, however, there are many requirements to use the short stay, but stars have to align nearly perfectly to capture any of the rehab RUGs. Because of this, short stays are often overlooked and underutilized, but is definitely still an option for very short admission stays." – shelly stangl, Ms, otR/L, president at AMSConsulting Group Question: I'm confused about the recent changes to Section I (Active Diagnoses) about what criteria is required to code a urinary tract infection on the MDS. Any tips? – Kansas subscriber The UTI is coded on the MDS only if both the following criteria are met in the last 30 days: – Kris Mastrangelo, president and CEO of HarmonyHealthcare international. You can find additional information about what constitutes McGreer criteria and the differences catheters may make in your coding, on a blog post Mastrangelo published on thesubject, which you can find here: http://www.harmony-healthcare.com/blog/mds-coding-revision-effective-urinary-tract-infection-uti-without-an-indwelling-catheter.
MDS Alert
- Back to Basics:
Pony Up Your ADL Documentation
Try out these tips to help your staff help you. Activities of daily living (ADLs) [...] - Surveys and Compliance:
Compile This Info Before Surveyors Knock
Don't chance scrambling to get surveyors the information they need when you can have the [...] - Compliance:
Look Out: Some Phase 2 Regs On Hold
A last-minute CMS memo outlines some Ftag enforcement delays, as well as changes to Nursing [...] - Person-Centered Care:
Use These Words, Avoid Certain Tones
Brush up on how your language affects every aspect of the care you provide. Your [...] - Coding Quizzer:
Brush Up On M0140 With These Scenarios
Check your answers on page 142. Scenario 1: Mr. Hamilton was readmitted to the facility [...] - Clip And Save:
Keep Your Residents' Health Information Safe
Increase your fluency in IT terminology to help prevent your facility falling victim to cyber [...] - CMS Announces Instructions For Victims of 'Cyber-Emergencies'
Follow these steps if you or a colleague suspects or confirms that your organization or [...] - Coding Quizzer Answers
Answer 1: You would check M0104E, according to the RAI Manual. "A surgical flap procedure [...] - Industry News You Can Use:
CMS Releases 2018 Therapy Code Updates
CMS has released the 2018 therapy code changes. They become effective Jan. 1, 2018, and [...] - Subscriber Q&A
Question: If a Medicare Part A resident is admitted to my facility for fewer than [...]
