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Issue 12, December 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Get ready for harsh deficiencies

  CMS' latest guidance has brought swift changes to the way surveyors will cite you for pressure...

• Get the right ADL code every time

  Editor's note: This is the second in a series of two articles about activities of daily living...

• What should you be doing for DAVE?

  The Data Assessment and Verification project (DAVE) has been around for a year. Just as you check...

• PPS Q&A

  "PPS Q&A" is written by Julia Hopp, MS, RN, CNAA, BC, vice president of patient accounting for the...

Issue 11, November 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Instill an MDS culture change

  Imagine having to train 40 MDS coordinators on the resident assessment instrument (RAI) process...

• Seven steps to solving pain problems

  MDS coordinators still struggle with pain coding at times, which can throw a wrench in the socket...

• Survey gaffes you'll never make a second time

  Nothing raises the hair on the back of the neck of an MDS coordinator more than surveyors picking...

• PPS Q&A

  "PPS Q&A" is written by Julia Hopp, MS, RN, CNAA, BC, vice president of patient accounting for the...

Issue 10, October 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• The buzz on CMS' quality measures

  Though you may not hear much from the public about the quality measures (QM), the government...

• RNACs: Stop wasting your time

  Jill, an MDS coordinator of three years, came into the office one morning to find work piled...

• Finesse your documentation flowsheets

  Many MDS coordinators have a love-hate relationship with nursing flowsheets. On the one hand, these...

• PPS Q&A

  "PPS Q&A" is written by Julia Hopp, MS, RN, CNAA, BC, vice president of patient accounting for the...

Issue 9, September 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• An intimate meeting with DAVE

  DAVE-the Data Assessment and Verification project-has landed in nursing homes across the nation...

• What your administrator needs to know for a smooth PPS process

  As your facility's MDS coordinator, you have access to critical data about how your facility...

• Learn to think like a surveyor

  If you've ever been slapped with an MDS-related survey deficiency, it probably stung pretty...

• PPS Q&A

  "PPS Q&A" is written by Julia Hopp, MS, RN, CNAA, BC, vice president of patient accounting for the...

Issue 8, August 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• More skilled nursing facilities come under the gaze of DAVE

  If your facility hasn't yet received a letter requesting a review of your records from CMS' Data...

• The 4-1-1 on completing discharge and reentry tracking forms

  It's not uncommon for MDS coordinators to have questions about the coding of discharge and reentry...

• There's more to Section N than bingo

  Though many facilities hand Section N, activity pursuit patterns, over to the activities director...

• PPS Q&A

  "PPS Q&A" is written by Julia Hopp, MS, RN, CNAA, BC, vice president of patient accounting for the...

Issue 7, July 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Get hip to the revenue cycle

  Some long-term care professionals feel uneasy about looking at facility operations in a financial...

• DAVE-proof your therapy minutes

  Miscounting therapy minutes hit it big in the results from CMS' accuracy testing of MDS assessments...

• Learn new timing and scheduling tricks

  MDS coordinators often puzzle over the scheduling of assessments. When to complete each part of the...

• PPS Q&A

  "PPS Q & A" is written by Julia Hopp, MS, RN, CNAA, BC, vice president of patient accounting for...

Issue 6, June 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• The 10 categories of Medicare eligibility you need to know

  Figuring out whether a resident meets the guidelines for being eligible for skilled services can be...

• Don't take HIPAA for an excuse

  The health information privacy law called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act...

• Back to the basics of ADL coding

  Whether you're reaching for your activities of daily living (ADL) coding guide or are already...

• PPS Q&A

  "PPS Q&A" is written by Julia Hopp, MS, RN, CNAA, BC, vice president of patient accounting for the...

Issue 5, May 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• It's RAI User's Manual update time

  In mid-April, representatives from CMS unveiled nearly 20 updates in the way nursing homes will...

• The first wave of DAVE hits facilities

  Drum roll, please! The national rollout of the Data Assessment and Verification project, named DAVE...

• Steer clear of bad RUGs-Learn the grouper system

  Editor's note: This article is the second in a two-part series on Resource Utilization Groups...

• PPS Q&A

  "PPS Q&A" is written by Julia Hopp, MS, RN, CNAA, BC, vice president of patient accounting for the...

Issue 4, April 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Get around the fallacies and learn the realities of RUG categories

  Editor's note: This is part one of a two-part series on how Resource Utilization Groups (RUGs...

• Self-auditing MDSs takes the guesswork out of your assess-work

  Many MDS coordinators are itching to perform audits of their assessments to ensure that they are...

• Five helpful hints to spice up your resident assessment protocols

  When you complete resident-assessment protocols (RAPs), do your eyelids get heavy? Does it feel...

• PPS Q&A

  "PPS Q&A" is written by Julia Hopp, MS, RN, CNAA, BC, vice president of patient accounting for the...

Issue 3, March 11, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• The MDS storms the courtroom

  Lawyers are becoming savvier at using errors and inconsistencies in the MDS to back up their cases...

• CMS update: What the agency's doing for your nursing home lately

  Changes at CMS can make an MDS coordinator's mind spin like a whirling dervish. Luckily, the...

• Check three times for clean MDSs, claims

  You can do the best job in the world at making sure you code the MDS correctly, but you can't...

• PPS Q&A

  "PPS Q&A" is written by Julia Hopp, MS, RN, CNAA, BC, vice president of patient accounting for the...

Issue 2, February 12, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• What DAVE wants from your facility

  Because CMS' Data Assessment and Verification (DAVE) project went national in January, you may...

• Become a reporting big shot

  Many expert MDS coordinators out there know the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI ) User's Manual...

• Don't be a nursing home doormat

  Even if you don't wrestle every day with getting respect as an MDS coordinator, you probably face...

• PPS Q&A

  "PPS Q&A" is written by Julia Hopp, MS, RN, CNAA, BC, vice president of patient accounting for the...

Issue 1, January 15, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Ten tips to get ahead with a restorative nursing program

  A properly run restorative nursing program can positively affect your reimbursement, quality...

• DAVE cracks down on MDS errors

  Nursing home leaders have been aware for some time of CMS' Data Assessment and Verification (DAVE...

• Get to the root cause of skin issues to code ulcers and others in Section M

  When it comes to coding skin integrity issues for items M1-M4 on the MDS, many MDS coordinators can...

• PPS Q&A

  "PPS Q & A" is written by Julia Hopp, MS, RN, CNAA, BC, vice president of patient accounting for...

• Tutorials lead the way for better MDS assessment

  Sometimes it's hard to convey to staff the importance of gathering accurate assessments so that you...