MDS Consultants

MDS Consultants Get expert, practical help for your facility.

MDS Consultants makes your team more proficient in skilled MDS documentation, ICD-10 coding, Interim Payment Assessments, Medicare regulations, reimbursement maximization and PDPM.

Happy Friday!Long-term care teams juggle a lot in a week — documentation, compliance, resident care, teamwork, and every...
03/06/2026

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!





We’re looking forward to being at AAPACN this year.Across multiple states, we’re continuing to see facilities work throu...
03/06/2026

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.

Join us as we celebrate our PAC Social Workers this March 2026. Social workers and/or designees in PAC have an immense i...
03/06/2026

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.” https://cstu.io/5f6093

QCP® isn’t just a certification — it’s a framework for building sustainable, survey-ready quality systems.If your facili...
03/05/2026

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: https://learn.aapacn.org/products/qcp-certification-virtual-workshop-4142026-hosted-by-mds-consultants-taught-by-barb-bates-linda-winston

Follow us for additional AAPACN certification opportunities throughout 2026.

The March 2026 Quarterly Confidential Feedback Reports for the fiscal year (FY) 2027 Skilled Nursing Facility Value-Base...
03/05/2026

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.
https://cstu.io/1ca4aa

The Survey and Certification User Manuals have been updated in iQIES. They were posted on 2/20/2026. 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘃...
03/03/2026

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
https://cstu.io/4fcb85
https://cstu.io/15fe50
https://cstu.io/7a693f
https://cstu.io/8bb469
https://cstu.io/932acd
https://cstu.io/d5c94e

The iQIES User Role Matrix job aid outlines the user roles and privileges in iQIES. All users must have a role in iQIES....
03/02/2026

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.
https://cstu.io/f33e5c

𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻’𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝟭𝟬.The question isn’t whether a care plan exists — it’s whet...
03/02/2026

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/

𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝟭𝟬 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲.Is your care plan truly reflecting the resident’s real-...
02/28/2026

𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝟭𝟬 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲.
Is your care plan truly reflecting the resident’s real-time status?

📅 March 12, 2026
⏰ 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM (Virtual)

Join Jessica Stucin, RN, BSN, LNHA, RAC-MT, RAC-CTA, QCP and Linda Winston, RN, BS, MSN, RAC-CT, RAC-CTA, DNS-MT, QCP-MT of MDS Consultants for:
📝 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 — 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗜𝘁 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻?

Care plan deficiencies remain a persistent survey concern — from timeliness of updates to lack of person-centered documentation.
At any given moment, the care plan should be a snapshot of the resident — reflecting current infections, changes in condition, falls, psychosocial needs, strengths, goals, and interventions.

If it’s not real time… it’s not accurate.

𝗗𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹:
✔ Review key regulatory expectations related to care planning
✔ Discuss how to capture real-time resident status and interventions
✔ Develop a QAPI-driven approach to monitoring care plan accuracy

👥 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱:
MDS Nurses, Directors of Nursing, Administrators, Nurse Managers, Social Workers, and Interdisciplinary Team Members

🎓 𝟭.𝟱 𝗥𝗵𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿 𝗡𝗛𝗔 𝗖𝗘𝗨𝘀 𝗔𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲

Care planning isn’t just compliance — it’s the clinical story of the resident.

Join us and ensure your care plans reflect the care actually being delivered.

👉: https://cstu.io/97d985

Happy Friday ☀️As you wrap up the week, here’s a quick thought:If someone opened one of your care plans right now…Would ...
02/27/2026

Happy Friday ☀️

As you wrap up the week, here’s a quick thought:
If someone opened one of your care plans right now…
Would it reflect today’s resident — or last month’s version?

Real-time documentation isn’t about perfection. It’s about keeping the resident's story current.

Have a great weekend, everyone 💚

Pharmaceutical services are an integral part of the care required to meet the needs of each nursing home resident. Nursi...
02/27/2026

Pharmaceutical services are an integral part of the care required to meet the needs of each nursing home resident. Nursing homes must provide pharmaceutical services (including procedures that assure the accurate acquiring, receiving, dispensing, and administering of all drugs). Nursing homes are also required to: (1) store all drugs in locked compartments; (2) permit only authorized personnel to have access to the keys to secured areas; and (3) provide separately locked, permanently affixed compartments for storage of Schedule II controlled drugs. State survey agencies cited almost half of nursing homes nationwide for pharmaceutical services deficiencies during recent complaint and standard health inspections. If effective systems and procedures to ensure the safe and effective use of medications are not implemented, over 157,000 nursing home residents who receive opioids could be at risk for overuse, misuse, or diversion. We will determine whether selected State agencies ensured that nursing homes: (1) complied with Federal and State pharmacy service requirements to prevent the overuse of opioids by Medicaid and Medicare residents and (2) implemented effective internal controls to prevent the misuse or diversion of opioids.
https://cstu.io/f8448d

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