MDS Data Elements

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Jul 01 2026
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From Quality to Financial Performance: How QMs Influence SNF VBP and Five-Star Ratings

Overview of The SNF VBP Program  The Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing program (SNF VBP) is a Medicare pay-for-performance program that is intended to encourage SNFs to improve the quality of care they provide to their residents. All SNFs paid under Medicare Prospective Payment System (PPS) are included in SNF VBP program – enrollment is not optional, and data used for the SNF VBP quality measure (QM) calculations comes primarily from Medicare SNF Fee-For-Service (FFS) Part A...
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Jun 07 2026
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What Really Counts: How Quality Measures Shape Compliance, Reporting, and Performance

If your Facility-level and Resident-level MDS 3.0 Quality Measures (MDS 3.0 QM), the Skilled Nursing Facility MDS 3.0 Quality Reporting Program Quality Measures (MDS 3.0 SNF QRP QM), or Five Star QM reporting on Care Compare are missing the mark and your scores are not what you expect, you have a great opportunity to examine facility policies and practices that impact how these quality measures (QMs) are calculated. Lagging or poor QMs reflect specific processes in a facility that need to be...
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May 01 2026
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Beyond the Scorecard: Turning Quality Measure Data into Action

Data coded on the Minimum Data Set (MDS) is collected during structured and defined time periods; what happens with the resident outside of those time periods cannot be captured on the MDS and will not impact your quality measures (QMs) apart from hybrid QMs. Currently the antipsychotic QM is the only hybrid measure, and the falls with major injury long stay QM is anticipated to become a hybrid measure. Hybrid measures are calculated using MDS data as well as encounter data from other...
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Mar 01 2026
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From Orders to Action: Aligning Care Plans and Psychotropic Medications

Critical Element Pathways (CEPs) are tools in the Long-Term Care State Operations Manual (SOM) that are developed by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) and utilized by surveyors along with interpretive guidance to evaluate each facility’s adherence to specific Federal Tag (F-tag) requirements. To evaluate resident care, each CEP is formatted to explain the purpose of investigation, with directions about which records to review – including Minimum Data Set (MDS) and care plans. Each CEP...
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Feb 01 2026

F641 in Plain English – How Interview Accuracy Protects Your CMI

When surveyors look at MDS accuracy, they’re not just checking boxes – they’re looking at whether the assessment truly reflects the resident. F641 holds the interdisciplinary team and nursing leadership accountable for how the assessment is completed, coordinated, and certified. The State Operations Manual outlines exactly what surveyors expect to see when they evaluate accuracy in practice. The State Operations Manual (SOM) Appendix PP – Guidance to Surveyors for Long Term Care Facilities...
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Jan 01 2026
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From Coding to Compliance: Avoiding Pitfalls in the 2026 MDS Landscape

With the numerous regulatory bodies that govern long term care (LTC) and skilled nursing facilities (SNF), it is easy to feel like there is no end to the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) and Minimum Data Set (MDS) “rules.” There are Federal, State, and sometimes local regulations. There are facility policies that may be in place (in response to a survey deficiency, as an extension of a corporate requirements, or simply “because we have always done it this way”). There is the internet and...
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Dec 01 2025
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Keeping Up with Quality Measures in 2026

Quality measures (QM) that are driven by MDS data are currently utilized for long term care (LTC) facilities and skilled nursing facilities (SNF) in several ways. These QMs are publicly reported via the Care Compare (CC) website and accompanying Five Star Ratings. MDS-driven QMs also play a significant role in the Annual Payment Update (APU) for the Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program (SNF QRP) – and will be playing a larger role in the Skilled Nursing Facility Value Based...
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Nov 01 2025
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The Latest in the Lineup: The Skilled Nursing Facility Validation Program

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) audits of skilled nursing facility (SNF) Minimum Data Set (MDS) data are nothing new. The MDS 3.0 was implemented in 2010, and in 2014 CMS piloted MDS Focused Surveys in 5 states. The results of the pilot study prompted full implementation of MDS Focused Surveys nationwide, and these surveys continued through Fiscal Year (FY) 2017. Since then, CMS has instituted a different approach to reviewing MDS accuracy, and SNFs are now subject to a variety of...
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Oct 01 2025
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How the MDS is Utilized During the Survey Process

Have you ever wondered how the survey team determines which residents they will focus on during a standard survey in the skilled nursing facility/long term care facility (SNF/LTC)? The answers submitted to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) on the Minimum Data Set (MDS) are a starting point for the survey process.   MDS USAGE The MDS is a versatile tool utilized as the beginning of individual resident care planning, contributing to a comprehensive facility assessment, driving...
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Sep 01 2025
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Fall MDS Updates are Here!

October 1 is typically when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) institutes changes to the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) and Minimum Data Set (MDS) – and this year is no exception. CMS has rescinded a few things that were anticipated and added a few things that may be a surprise. Post-acute care providers will want to make sure that staff are aware of the updates and have processes in place to ensure a smooth transition from September into October.   What Has CMS...
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Jul 01 2025
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The Facility Assessment and Emergency Management Planning: The MDS Plays a Big Role

  What is the MDS Role in the Facility Assessment? F838 in the State Operations Manual (SOM) provides specific information for developing a Facility Assessment that must be reviewed and updated at least annually. A well-developed facility assessment is a template that guides staff in determining what resources are necessary to care for residents competently during both day-to-day operations and in emergencies. Accurate data collected and recorded on the MDS can be used to generate helpful...
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Jun 01 2025
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MDS Nutrition – Not Limited to Section K

Often Section K on the MDS, associated CAAs, and care planning are relegated to the dietician to worry about. However, when we look at a comprehensive MDS, we can see that the information in Section K is only part of the resident's nutritional story, and the dietitian (or any other IDT member who is coding Section K, developing the CAAs, and creating effective care plans) cannot be successful without input from multiple sources. When the data is collected from a variety of sources in the...
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Apr 01 2025
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MDS Errors: Steps for Correction

What does the NAC do when they identify an error on an MDS assessment? The answer is correct the identified error. Any error that incorrectly represents the resident's status needs to be corrected. One would think correcting an MDS error would be a “simple” process, but MDS corrections can be a multifaceted undertaking. When an MDS error is identified, the NAC must determine what type of error has occurred and if the MDS assessment has been submitted to iQIES (Internet Quality Improvement and...
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Mar 01 2025
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RAI and MDS Compliance: The Importance of the Administrator in the Lineup

With the Minimum Data Set (MDS), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) created a standardized, reliable, reproducible framework for assessing long term care resident status. As a result, MDS data plays a significant role in myriad areas of skilled nursing – from resident care plans to quality measures and reimbursement – which are governed through regulatory compliance. While adherence to these guidelines certainly falls to MDS Coordinators and Interdisciplinary Team (IDT) members, there...
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Jan 01 2025

Navigating the 2025 Winds of Change: New Survey Guidance

The 2025 new year has begun with a whirlwind of changes in Long-Term Care – starting with New Surveyor Guidance. CMS released an advanced copy of these State Operations Manual Appendix PP (Guidance for Skilled Nursing Facilities) updates in a November QSO Memo (QSO-25-07-NH Revised Long-Term Care (LTC) Surveyor Guidance: Significant revisions to enhance quality and oversight of the LTC survey process). Surveyors will start using the updated guidance on February 24, 2025.   What Are the...
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mds-consultants-what-is-an-mds-nurse-coordinator-part-1
Dec 01 2024
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What is an MDS Coordinator?

"What do you do for a living?" It may not surprise you that when asked this question, most MDS Coordinators struggle to come up with an answer. The reality is that MDS Coordinators fully understand what this multifaceted job entails, but are at a loss of how to put it into words for someone who isn’t out there doing it every day. This refresher on the basics of MDS Coordination should help answer that basic question quickly, completely, and in such a way that is easy to grasp.   What Does...
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From-the-MDS-to-RAI-System-Management
Nov 01 2024
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From the MDS to RAI System Management

With the introduction of the Minimum Data Set (MDS) through the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1987, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) implemented a method of standardized, comprehensive, and reproducible data collection for long term care residents that addressed medical conditions and functional status. This data collection tool has morphed into a means of reflecting long term care and rehab facility compliance with federal regulations, facility quality measures, resident...
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iQIES-a-new-age
Aug 01 2024
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Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES): A New Age

Just when we thought we had a handle on QIES (Quality Improvement and Evaluation System), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) transitioned to the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES) in 2023.   Reports and Roles Reports generated from MDS submissions (along with other reports) are available in the iQIES portal. Becoming familiar with what reports are available, who in the organization is responsible for “pulling” the reports, how often to pull the...
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SCSA
Jul 01 2024
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A Significant Change in Status Assessment – There are Options

The Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) system includes a significant change in status assessment (SCSA). What might be forgotten is the State Operation Manual (SOM), Appendix PP, includes information that mirrors the RAI manual at 42 CFR §483.20(b)(2)(ii), F637 - Comprehensive Assess After Significant Change. Thus, regulatory oversight mirrors the RAI manual’s description of what constitutes a SCSA for a resident.   SCSA Definitions Chapter 2 of the RAI Manual covers SCSA. A...
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Interim-Payment-Assessment
Jun 01 2024
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Interim Payment Assessment (IPA) – To do or not to do?

The Patient-Driven Payment Model took effect in October of 2019. Along with this change came the optional IPA. We are now five years into this change and questions still arise on when to complete an IPA. The decision of when to complete lies with the team at the facility. This team is not prescribed but identified by facility. The key question: does the 5-day PPS MDS completed on admission capture the current clinical picture being reimbursed (PDPM classification) or is an updated assessment...
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Recent Blogs in All Topics

Jul 01 2026
, ,

From Quality to Financial Performance: How QMs Influence SNF VBP and Five-Star Ratings

Overview of The SNF VBP Program  The Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing program (SNF VBP) is a Medicare pay-for-performance program that is intended to encourage SNFs to improve the quality of care they provide to their residents. All...
Keep Reading
Jun 07 2026
,

What Really Counts: How Quality Measures Shape Compliance, Reporting, and Performance

If your Facility-level and Resident-level MDS 3.0 Quality Measures (MDS 3.0 QM), the Skilled Nursing Facility MDS 3.0 Quality Reporting Program Quality Measures (MDS 3.0 SNF QRP QM), or Five Star QM reporting on Care Compare are missing the mark...
Keep Reading
May 01 2026
,

Beyond the Scorecard: Turning Quality Measure Data into Action

Data coded on the Minimum Data Set (MDS) is collected during structured and defined time periods; what happens with the resident outside of those time periods cannot be captured on the MDS and will not impact your quality measures (QMs) apart from...
Keep Reading
Apr 01 2026

Care Planning to Reduce the Risk for Chemical Restraint

How can we turn care plans from an exercise in paper compliance that few staff understand, let alone review or utilize, to a workable document that helps us manage resident needs? When thinking about how to create an effective care plan for an “as...
Keep Reading
Mar 01 2026
, , ,

From Orders to Action: Aligning Care Plans and Psychotropic Medications

Critical Element Pathways (CEPs) are tools in the Long-Term Care State Operations Manual (SOM) that are developed by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) and utilized by surveyors along with interpretive guidance to evaluate each facility’s...
Keep Reading
Feb 01 2026

F641 in Plain English – How Interview Accuracy Protects Your CMI

When surveyors look at MDS accuracy, they’re not just checking boxes – they’re looking at whether the assessment truly reflects the resident. F641 holds the interdisciplinary team and nursing leadership accountable for how the assessment is...
Keep Reading
Jan 01 2026
,

From Coding to Compliance: Avoiding Pitfalls in the 2026 MDS Landscape

With the numerous regulatory bodies that govern long term care (LTC) and skilled nursing facilities (SNF), it is easy to feel like there is no end to the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) and Minimum Data Set (MDS) “rules.” There are Federal,...
Keep Reading
Dec 01 2025
,

Keeping Up with Quality Measures in 2026

Quality measures (QM) that are driven by MDS data are currently utilized for long term care (LTC) facilities and skilled nursing facilities (SNF) in several ways. These QMs are publicly reported via the Care Compare (CC) website and accompanying...
Keep Reading
Nov 01 2025
, , , ,

The Latest in the Lineup: The Skilled Nursing Facility Validation Program

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) audits of skilled nursing facility (SNF) Minimum Data Set (MDS) data are nothing new. The MDS 3.0 was implemented in 2010, and in 2014 CMS piloted MDS Focused Surveys in 5 states. The results of the pilot...
Keep Reading
Oct 01 2025
, ,

How the MDS is Utilized During the Survey Process

Have you ever wondered how the survey team determines which residents they will focus on during a standard survey in the skilled nursing facility/long term care facility (SNF/LTC)? The answers submitted to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS)...
Keep Reading
Sep 01 2025
,

Fall MDS Updates are Here!

October 1 is typically when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) institutes changes to the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) and Minimum Data Set (MDS) – and this year is no exception. CMS has rescinded a few things that were...
Keep Reading
Aug 01 2025
,

Medicaid PDPM Is Coming: What Skilled Nursing Facilities Need to Know

Beginning October 1, 2025, many nursing homes will adopt a new reimbursement model for Medicaid residents: the Patient-Driven Payment Model, or Medicaid PDPM. While PDPM has been in place for Medicare since 2019, this is the first time it’s being...
Keep Reading
Jul 01 2025
,

The Facility Assessment and Emergency Management Planning: The MDS Plays a Big Role

  What is the MDS Role in the Facility Assessment? F838 in the State Operations Manual (SOM) provides specific information for developing a Facility Assessment that must be reviewed and updated at least annually. A well-developed facility...
Keep Reading
Jun 01 2025
,

MDS Nutrition – Not Limited to Section K

Often Section K on the MDS, associated CAAs, and care planning are relegated to the dietician to worry about. However, when we look at a comprehensive MDS, we can see that the information in Section K is only part of the resident's nutritional...
Keep Reading
May 01 2025
,

Celebrating Skilled Nursing

National Skilled Nursing Week is held annually in May to recognize long-term care professionals that care for our residents in Skilled Nursing Facilities. This year’s National Skilled Nursing Week is May 11 - 17 and the theme is “Tapestry of Life”...
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Apr 01 2025
,

MDS Errors: Steps for Correction

What does the NAC do when they identify an error on an MDS assessment? The answer is correct the identified error. Any error that incorrectly represents the resident's status needs to be corrected. One would think correcting an MDS error would be a...
Keep Reading
Mar 01 2025
, ,

RAI and MDS Compliance: The Importance of the Administrator in the Lineup

With the Minimum Data Set (MDS), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) created a standardized, reliable, reproducible framework for assessing long term care resident status. As a result, MDS data plays a significant role in myriad areas of...
Keep Reading
Feb 01 2025

Laying the Foundation – Care Area Assessments to Care Plans

Because Care Area Assessments (CAAs) are not submitted to CMS, and the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) manual offers little guidance on how to complete a CAA when compared to the Minimum Data Set (MDS) instructions, CAAs are a segment of the...
Keep Reading
Jan 01 2025

Navigating the 2025 Winds of Change: New Survey Guidance

The 2025 new year has begun with a whirlwind of changes in Long-Term Care – starting with New Surveyor Guidance. CMS released an advanced copy of these State Operations Manual Appendix PP (Guidance for Skilled Nursing Facilities) updates in a...
Keep Reading
Dec 01 2024
, ,

What is an MDS Coordinator?

"What do you do for a living?" It may not surprise you that when asked this question, most MDS Coordinators struggle to come up with an answer. The reality is that MDS Coordinators fully understand what this multifaceted job entails, but are at a...
Keep Reading
Nov 01 2024
, ,

From the MDS to RAI System Management

With the introduction of the Minimum Data Set (MDS) through the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1987, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) implemented a method of standardized, comprehensive, and reproducible data collection for long...
Keep Reading
Oct 01 2024

Maximizing Case Mix with Special Programs: Respiratory Therapy and Restorative Nursing

Case mix is essential in skilled nursing facilities as it impacts both reimbursement and the care provided. Two key programs that significantly impact case mix scores when properly implemented and documented are Respiratory Therapy and Restorative...
Keep Reading
Sep 01 2024

Strategic Admissions: The Path to Optimized Medicaid Reimbursement

Medicaid reimbursement plays a significant role in the financial health of long-term care facilities, particularly those serving a high percentage of Medicaid residents. While it may not be the sole source of revenue, it is an important component...
Keep Reading
Aug 01 2024
, ,

Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES): A New Age

Just when we thought we had a handle on QIES (Quality Improvement and Evaluation System), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) transitioned to the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES) in 2023.   Reports...
Keep Reading
Jul 01 2024
,

A Significant Change in Status Assessment – There are Options

The Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) system includes a significant change in status assessment (SCSA). What might be forgotten is the State Operation Manual (SOM), Appendix PP, includes information that mirrors the RAI manual at 42 CFR...
Keep Reading
Jun 01 2024
,

Interim Payment Assessment (IPA) – To do or not to do?

The Patient-Driven Payment Model took effect in October of 2019. Along with this change came the optional IPA. We are now five years into this change and questions still arise on when to complete an IPA. The decision of when to complete lies with...
Keep Reading
May 01 2024
,

Resident Interviews – What are you doing to capture the data?

Effective October 1, 2023, several resident interviews were added to or updated on the MDS. Interview items in Section A and changes to the interviews in Section D, J, and Q have been implemented. Each of the interviews can be a great steppingstone...
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Apr 01 2024
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Section GG Documentation – Questions Still Abound

Section GG remains a popular discussion topic among the Nurse Assessment Coordinator (NAC) and other members of the interdisciplinary team (IDT). Many have questioned their own practices and processes, designed to support coding this section of the...
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Mar 01 2024
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Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) – A Global Initiative Important to Skilled Nursing Providers

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Office of Mental Health report CMS Framework for Health Equity 2022 and 2032 states that health equity is defined by the attainment of the highest level of health for all people, where...
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Feb 01 2024

Trauma and the MDS – A Sneak Peak

Trauma informed care has become an area of focus for Post Acute Care providers and survey agencies. Organizations are required to provide trauma-informed care that meets “professional standards of practice and accounting for residents’ experiences...
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