Q:
We have a resident who was admitted to the nursing home on 2/4/24 and scheduled their MDS admission assessment with an ARD (assessment reference date) for 2/11/24. They elected to enroll in a hospice program on 2/9/24. We know a significant change MDS assessment needs to be completed when a resident elects hospice. Do we need to schedule a significant change MDS assessment in addition to their admission MDS assessment?
A:
The resident elected the hospice benefit prior to the ARD of the MDS admission assessment, so a significant change status assessment is not required. Coding on the MDS admission assessment will need to identify the resident as being in a hospice program for a terminally ill condition. Accurate coding for this scenario will be to mark the hospice care item under special treatments, procedures, and programs in section O (O0110K1) as well as to code yes under prognosis in section J (J1400).
This information can be reviewed from the RAI 3.0 User’s Manual, Version 1.18.11
- Assessments for the RAI, Significant Change in Status Assessment – Page 2-25
- J1400, Prognosis – Page J-27 & J-28
- O0110K1, Hospice Care – Page O-7
Jessica Miller, RN, RAC-CT
Clinical Consultant
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