Ask Proactive – A Medicare patient was admitted to our SNF in the morning and went home AMA later that same afternoon. What MDS assessments need to be completed?

A Medicare patient was admitted to our SNF in the morning and went home AMA later that same afternoon.  What MDS assessments need to be completed?

A:

The Entry record and the unplanned discharge return not anticipated are required to be completed. In addition, since the patient was admitted and discharged prior to midnight on the same day and did not discharge to another Medicare provider, this day is a billable day to Medicare. You may also wish to combine the discharge assessment with a 5 day Medicare MDS to establish the payment rate for billing this one day.