News for MDS Experts
Check out our insightful articles and current social feed of news that’s important to MDS Coordinators.
Our Latest Articles
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...
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...
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...
Happy Friday!
Long-term care teams juggle a lot in a week — documentation, compliance, resident care, teamwork, and everything in between.
A big thank you to the nurses, administrators, MDS professionals, and interdisciplinary teams who keep things moving every day.
We hope everyone gets a chance to recharge this weekend!
#LongTermCare
#skillednursing
#HealthcareLeadership
#MDSConsultants
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We’re looking forward to being at AAPACN this year.
Across multiple states, we’re continuing to see facilities work through PDPM refinements, documentation alignment challenges, and reimbursement trends that warrant closer attention.
If you’re attending, stop by Booth 314 to:
• Pick up a complimentary PDPM Score Card
• Talk through a documentation or coding concern
• Compare approaches to PDPM strategy
📍 Booth 314
We look forward to connecting.
#AAPACN #PDPM #MDS #LongTermCare #SNFLeadership #MDSCONSULTANTS #MDSSUPPORT #MDSTRAININGANDEDUCATION ... See MoreSee Less
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Join us as we celebrate our PAC Social Workers this March 2026. Social workers and/or designees in PAC have an immense impact on our residents within a SNF and/or long-term care facility. "Social Work Month was first celebrated in March 1963 to build public support for the profession. It has become an event celebrated by hundreds of thousands of social workers – and their supporters – each year.
This year’s theme is “Social Work: Uplift. Defend. Transform.” cstu.io/5f6093 ... See MoreSee Less
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QCP® isn’t just a certification — it’s a framework for building sustainable, survey-ready quality systems.
If your facility is ready to move from reactive compliance to proactive quality management, this workshop delivers practical structure your leadership team can actually use.
📅 QCP® | April 14–17, 2026
🖥️ Virtual | Eastern Time
🎓 15 Continuing Education Credits
🔗 Register here: learn.aapacn.org/products/qcp-certification-virtual-workshop-4142026-hosted-by-mds-consultants-ta...
Follow us for additional AAPACN certification opportunities throughout 2026.
#AAPACN #AAPACNTrainingPartner #QCP #QAPI #MDSConsultants #SNFEducation #LongTermCare #NurseLeadership #Compliance #QualityImprovement ... See MoreSee Less
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The March 2026 Quarterly Confidential Feedback Reports for the fiscal year (FY) 2027 Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Based Purchasing (SNF VBP) Program are now available to download via the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES).
These reports contain consolidated summaries of SNFs’ historical measure results, performance scores, and incentive payment multipliers for the SNF VBP Program for the FY 2019 through FY 2026 Program years. SNFs may use this information to review and monitor their performance in the SNF VBP Program over time. The historical information in this report is available for reference and will not be used for future incentive payment calculations in the SNF VBP Program; therefore, it is not eligible for the SNF VBP Program’s Review and Correction process.
Log into to iQIES and go to My Reports-MDS 3.0 Provider Preview Reports to access.
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The February update of Appendix B to the MDS 3.0 RAI User’s Manual contains changes to the list of State RAI Coordinators, MDS Automation Coordinators, and CMS locations and contacts.
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The Survey and Certification User Manuals have been updated in iQIES. They were posted on 2/20/2026.
𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝟮.𝟯
𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆 𝘃𝟮.𝟯
𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆 𝗟𝗧𝗖 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘃𝟭.𝟰
𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘃𝟮.𝟱
𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘃𝟮.𝟯
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The iQIES User Role Matrix job aid outlines the user roles and privileges in iQIES. All users must have a role in iQIES. Updated 219/2026 and posted 2/25/2026.
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𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻’𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝟭𝟬.
The question isn’t whether a care plan exists — it’s whether it reflects the resident’s current status.
📅 March 10, 2026 |11:00a.m. E.T
🎓 Real Time Care Planning — What Does It Mean?
𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻
At any given moment, a care plan should capture what is happening now — recent falls, infections, psychosocial changes, interventions, strengths, and goals.
In this session, we will:
• Review key regulatory groupings related to care planning
• Discuss how to capture real-time resident status
• Develop a QAPI-driven approach to monitoring care plan accuracy
Registration is required to receive your personal login link.
👉https://www.mdsexpert.com/membership/
#MDS #LongTermCare #CarePlanning #QAPI #SurveyReadiness #SNFLeadership ... See MoreSee Less
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