The latest news, events, blogs and more…
Ask Proactive – Why is daily charting necessary and how do you tackle compliance with Medicare A charting?
Q: Why is daily charting necessary and how do you tackle compliance with Medicare A charting? A: Documentation is an important part of providing resident care, it is a means to facilitate communication among the healthcare team, allowing for collaboration and...
Insights into Compliance: F675-F680 Quality of Life Requirements
Quality of life is a fundamental principle that applies to all care and services provided to nursing facility residents. The Quality of Life regulatory requirements at 483.24 (F675-F680) cover Quality of Life, Activities of Daily living, CPR, and activities. F677, ADL...
F578 Resident’s Rights- Advance Directives
Advance Directive and resident’s rights related to medical decision making are addressed in the surveyor guidance under F578. Understanding how the guidance defines both advance directives and advanced care planning is critical to complying with the regulations:...
Ask Proactive – Does Cultural Competence include gender identity and sexual orientation?
Q: Does Cultural Competence include gender identity and sexual orientation? A: Attitudes toward sexuality in general and toward sexual identity or orientation are culturally defined. Gender identity and sexual orientation can be categorized as cross-cutting...
Therapy Department Report Card
A thriving therapy department can have a tremendous impact on nursing home care culture, quality outcomes, and the bottom line. Whether your facility has an in-house or contract therapy program, rehabilitation services should continually contribute to resident...
Ask Proactive – Is there a certain amount of time allowed before an RN needs to complete a resident fall follow-up? Also, what should a fall follow-up entail?
Q: Is there a certain amount of time allowed before an RN needs to complete a resident fall follow-up? Also, what should a fall follow-up entail? A: While there is no specified time frame for RN assessment, guidance tells us the proper actions following a fall...
Ask Proactive – What actions need to be taken in preparation for the end of the Public Health Emergency (PHE)?
Q: What actions need to be taken in preparation for the end of the Public Health Emergency (PHE)? A: The COVID-19 national emergency was declared on March 13, 2020. As a result of this, several blanket waivers were put into place. Additions and modifications...
New SNF PEPPER Now Available: Do you have outliers that may trigger medical review?
The Q4FY22 release of the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Report (PEPPER) with statistics through September 2022 is now available for download. Follow these steps to access your PEPPER and analyze any outlier billing...
Drug Diversion Prevention—Are You Doing Enough?
Drug diversion in a nursing home can have serious consequences and pose a risk to resident and staff health and safety. Facilities and their nursing staff are expected to be the gatekeepers of medications as a key component of ensuring quality care. Effective...
Proactive Director Comments on CMS Infection Control Enforcement Memorandum for McKnights
Shelly Maffia, MSN, MBA, RN, LNHA, QCP, CHC, CLNC, CPC, Director of Regulatory Services, comments on CMS Infection Control enforcement memorandum QSO-23-10-NH for McKnights Long Term Care News CMS Announces Strengthened Enhanced Enforcement for Infection Control...
5 Things to Do Now to Improve Care Plan Processes
Deficient practices related to care planning continue to be a frequently cited issue for providers. Effective care planning can be challenging and requires an IDT approach to ensure effective systems that will lead to better resident outcomes, as well as survey...
Ask Proactive – When a resident who has a feeding tube for nutrition is receiving speech therapy and has orders for a pureed diet/thickened liquid trials at lunch during therapy sessions, should this be coded on the MDS as a mechanically altered diet in section K0510?
Q: When a resident who has a feeding tube for nutrition is receiving speech therapy and has orders for a pureed diet/thickened liquid trials at lunch during therapy sessions, should this be coded on the MDS as a mechanically altered diet in section K0510? A:...
Ask Proactive – If a skilled or private pay resident is sent out to the hospital and the resident’s representative does not want to pay to hold the bed, is this an allowable discharge?
Q: If a skilled or private pay resident is sent out to the hospital and the resident’s representative does not want to pay to hold the bed, is this an allowable discharge? A: No, you must permit them to readmit to the next available bed if your facility can...
Post-Pandemic Nursing Home Infection Preventionist Priorities
An effective Infection Preventionists plays the part of guardian, detective, and scientist as they lead facility efforts in preventing and controlling infections through a robust Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) program. As facilities move beyond the COVID era,...
Ask Proactive – We have a resident who we are skilling related to a recent femur fracture. The principal diagnosis is S72.22XD, which maps to the Non-Surgical Orthopedic/Musculoskeletal Clinical Category, but it states “May be Eligible for One of the Two Orthopedic Surgery Categories”. How do we determine if it is eligible for one of the Orthopedic Surgery categories?
Q: We have a resident who we are skilling related to a recent femur fracture. The principal diagnosis is S72.22XD, which maps to the Non-Surgical Orthopedic/Musculoskeletal Clinical Category, but it states “May be Eligible for One of the Two Orthopedic Surgery...