MDS 3.0 - The Countdown is On!


Make sure you're ready for the switch for MDS 2.0 to MDS 3.0!

Has your software been updated?

Perhaps not surprisingly, many software companies out there have yet to release MDS 3.0 to their clients or even to beta. If you’re not already an AOD client, you might be wondering about the status of your current software provider. We want to let you know that AOD Software has officially released MDS 3.0 in early August during its general release of AnswersElite version 12. MDS 3.0 was previously released to beta ahead of schedule in June of this year. Existing AOD clients should upgrade immediately to version 12, if they haven’t already, so they can access MDS 3.0 and begin testing on their sandboxes within their own companies.

AOD clients also enjoy on demand eLearning sessions from our AOD Resource Website as well as FAQ documentation with setup instructions and more! Additional live training sessions at AOD University are still available for both new and existing clients to come up-to-speed on MDS 3.0 before the October 1st deadline.

Do you have an MDS 3.0 RAI manual?

Although it’s gone through various revisions, maintaining an up-to-date RAI manual is critical to the transition for MDS 3.0. However, having it sit on a shelf isn’t enough. It is important to ensure that your staff is kept informed of all changes in each of the revisions released by CMS. Doing this incrementally will significantly assist your staff in maintaining the knowledgebase in their heads. RAI Manuals are easy enough to find from resources like HCPro, however, if you’re tight on cash and would like to make a manual available to every member of your staff that needs one, you can always view the free manual that we've made available to you online at http://www.AODsoftware.com/RAI

Do you know your State’s specific MDS 3.0 requirements?

Section S questions for many States have been published. If you have not already reviewed the required questions for your Sate, please visit https://www.qtso.com/vendormds.html

Have you updated all of your user-defined forms for MDS 3.0?

If your organization uses other user-defined forms or assessments to feed information to the MDS, now is the perfect time to conduct an audit of the forms you’ve been using to determine if they need to be updated for MDS 3.0. With the new changes in the MDS there may be some questions and the coding for your responses on your user-defined forms. It is also a good opportunity to evaluate whether you would need to add any new questions to your forms that may help your staff make a smoother transition to MDS 3.0.

Have you become familiar with the two new Care Area Triggers (CATs) in MDS 3.0?

MDS 3.0 has introduced us all to not only new terminology like CAAs and CATs, but also to two new triggers. Trigger number 19 is for Pain and number 20 is for Return to Community. Your staff should, by now, be familiar with these, but have you adjusted your Care Plan libraries to include Problems, Goals and Approaches for these two new triggers so that you can complete the “Circle of Care” for your Residents?

Did you know the MDS 3.0 Lookback Period starts as early as September 18?

This means that you need a plan for charting your ADL’s for both MDS 2.0 and MDS 3.0 during the transitional lookback period of September 18th-September 30th. You’ll need to make sure your plan is in place immediately and that your CNAs have been trained on that plan!

Are you fully aware of the impact MDS 3.0 will have on Rehab and therapy RUG Scores?

With MDS 3.0, CMS has significantly changed the rules on Rehab Services. The new procedures are bound to make the largest impact to most organizations moving toward MDS 3.0 in that concurrent therapy minutes are being cut in half. Meaning that your therapists should be aware that the new RUG-IV calculation only uses one half of any concurrent therapy minutes they record in treatment for Medicare A Residents. What is the impact of this change on your facility? Resulting RUG scores will be less likely to hit high level Rehab categories and therapists will need to schedule more individual sessions with Residents in order to achieve the same RUG scores they had previously. The time to increase the efficiency of your Rehab Services department is upon you. Doing everything you can to streamline your processes so that you can better serve your Residents will become even more critical with MDS 3.0 because every minute of therapy will be precious.

Have you reviewed the options CMS has provided for transitioning from MDS 2.0 to 3.0?

CMS has recently published four options to choose from which are available to all long term care facilities for any resident whose PPS payment period is split between days in September and days in October. One of those options is to do nothing and get paid at the default rate. A second option is for facilities to submit both an MDS 2.0 and 3.0 of the same type for the respective dates. The final two options involve substituting MDS 3.0 as the assessment.  Each of these options apply under specific circumstances, so it is important for your team to become familiar with them and apply them accordingly. CMS has published a PowerPoint detailing the four options in conjunction with an audio conference they held on the subject. To view the PowerPoint from CMS, please visit: http://www.cms.gov/SNFPPS/Downloads/SNFPPSandRUGIV_audioconference08242010.pdf

The audio for the teleconference is also available at: http://media.cms.hhs.gov/audio/snfcall_082310_84803296.mp3

Have you verified whether your facility is now considered Rural or Urban?

To keep the MDS 3.0 transition exciting, CMS announced during a SNF Open Door Forum that many changes have been made between Rural and Urban locals. It is important for you to cross check whether your facility locations have been affected. It is possible that you’re now considered urban when you were previously classified as rural. In order to verify your location’s classification, please view the PDF below. The classification starts on page 36 of the document:  http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-17628.pdf

Are you aware that every new Admission requires not only an Admission assessment but also a separate Entry Assessment?

CMS now requires that with every Admission Assessment a separate Entry Assessment is also completed in the same timeframe. The Admission Assessment continues to be a comprehensive, while the Entry Assessment is a short form with only a few sections that tracks the entrance into the facility. However, MDS Coordinators must remember to complete and submit this extra Entry Assessment upon Admission of the Resident also. This step needs to be included in the internal training sessions for MDS staff.

Do you know what will increase your RUG scores with MDS 3.0?

With the loss of concurrent therapy minutes in the new MDS 3.0, facilities will need to rely on ADLs even more to secure higher RUG scores. That means that proper documentation of ADLs has never been more critical. Various studies conducted with the information released by CMS so far have indicated that even a difference of 1 ADL point could mean a significant shift in RUG scores and therefore, reimbursement for one Resident. Now, multiply that by the number of Residents in your facility and you can quickly recover the revenue you just lost with concurrent therapy minutes.

Collecting the documentation for ADLs can be fraught with errors, delays and questions about validity through copy-cat charting. However, technologies like touchscreen systems can help your CNAs do their jobs more efficiently and ensure that come survey time you have all of the necessary back up to support your MDS 3.0 assessments.

AOD’s Point of Care has the ability to collect ADL documentation in a touchscreen format that CNAs will take to easily. In fact, The British Homes experienced 100% compliance from day one coupled with a 40% increase in revenue from ADL Scores alone using MDS 2.0 by implementing the use of AOD’s Point of Care system. Imagine what will be possible with the new MDS 3.0 calculations. It’s time for your staff to work smarter.  

If you answered NO to any of the above questions, the time to act is NOW!

AOD is MDS 3.0 ready. If you have doubts about your current software’s MDS 3.0 readiness, contact us at info@AODsoftware.com or 800.311.8252. There’s still some time left, but no time to waste!

It's no wonder why thousands of users across long term care communities trust and value AnswersElite as their one mission-critical software solution for Clinical, Financial, Operations, Rehab and much more!

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Other MDS 3.0 resources include: