Today, although only a Tuesday was a very busy day for the facilities that I oversee. Billing for all the skilled care that is provided is due this week. That means that the MDS assessments that are used for this purpose need to be complete as possible. Completing the MDS is not where it ends. It used to be that if you were a MDS Nurse you completed your MDS on time, completed Triple check which was done manually with yourself, the Director of Rehab and the Business office manager. If everything matched as expected and the Medicare Certification was signed then it was a great day with great outcomes.

That is no longer true for MDS Nurses. We have been provided technology that is supposed to aide us in doing our jobs but it seems it has increased our workload. We now complete our MDS assessments which now get processed through these programs. We then need to verify anything that flags. That means now reviewing why we did not choose to code what the program thinks is logical. We now do Triple check electronically and need to review each flag for that as well. Again a computer asking if we agree with what we coded. The last check of technology again scrubs our MDS answers and ask us again to review and provide a reason why we coded as we did.

These are all great tools for the novice MDS nurse who may not understand the rules of reimbursement. For the seasoned MDS nurse these tools may be adding frustration because of the added workload. But fortunately I have seen that whether you are novice or seasoned ,the tools have identified coding opportunities. That is why companies are choosing to utilize these programs. They help identify correct coding opportunities that allow facilities to be reimbursed properly for the care they are providing to the residents.

What will help to lessen your stress if experiencing it while navigating working with these extra tools.

First take a deep breath.

Next identify your “Why “ for your reason for working in this field. If you know your reason it will help you to continue to deliver excellent care.

If you are having difficulty navigating the tools then ask for help or additional training.

Try to keep notes when completing your assessments so you know why you did or did not code the MDS for areas being flagged.

Remember, that appropriate acuity capture is how facilities are able to deliver quality care.

Lastly, remember that all of this is for the residents.

Skilled Nursing Support DEC 2022/maria.messina@skillednursingsupport.com