HCPro.com: PPS Alert for Long-Term Care

Looking for a tool to make your job easier? PPS Alert for Long-Term Care, exclusively for the RN or MDS coordinator, is your survival guide for complying with PPS.

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July 2008 (Volume 11, Issue 7)	view entire issue

The key to Medicare meeting success lies in the agenda and advance prep
Editor's note: This is the second article in a two-part series on Medicare meetings that reviews the meeting agenda and keys to success. Part one examined why Medicare meetings are important and who should attend. Holding regularly scheduled Medicare meetings will not necessarily ensure that the meetings will be efficient or useful in regard to managing Medicare residents, says Judy Thornton, RN, RAC-CT, clinical reimbursement coordinator at Berkshire Healthcare in Pittsfield, MA. New MDS coordinators should take the following steps to ensure successful Medicare meetings.

Take these steps for timely, accurate quarterlies
Barring significant change in status or discharge, the basic OBRA cycle of MDS assessments is as follows: comprehensive, quarterly, quarterly, quarterly, comprehensive. So the quarterly is the workhorse of the OBRA assessment schedule, providing critical resident assessment information between comprehensive assessments. (See pp. 2-15-2-16 of the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) User's Manual for information about quarterly MDS assessments.)

PPS Q&A
Editor's note: "PPS Q&A" is written by Rena R. Shephard, MHA, RN, RAC-MT, C-NE, founding chair and executive editor of the American Association of Nurse Assessment Coordinators and president of RRS Healthcare Consulting Services in San Diego.

Other recently-published articles from PPS Alert for Long-Term Care:

CMS releases MDS 3.0 draft item set

Fluid status monitoring: A good program starts with CNAs

Improving care and process through technology

Finding the right consultant for your facility

Focus on interviewing skills and working with vendors

PPS Q&A

The 2009 SNF PPS rates for Medicare

Make communication the key to successful care planning at your facility

Keys to keeping PPS assessments on schedule

CMS finally clarifies default billing

Learn the difference: Late vs. missed assessments

Counting therapy minutes: Use a triple-check review to ensure accuracy

PPS Q&A

Coding therapy on the MDS: Make sure minutes are coded accurately to avoid denials

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