AGING AND DISABILITY SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
2008 NH "Dear Administrator" Letters
August 20, 2008
ADSA: NH # 2008-011
REVISIONS TO RAI USER’S MANUAL
Dear Nursing Facility/Home Administrator:
This letter contains important information for facility staff responsible for completing the Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessments.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced the release of the fourteenth set of updates to the December 2002 revision of the Long Term Care Facility Resident Assessment Instrument User’s Manual Version 2.0. The changes, which include clarifications of existing policy, are effective August 1, 2008.
The update document is 36 pages in length and includes the following:
- A ten-page revision table identifying the changes
- 7 replacement pages in Chapter 2: Using the RAI
- 6 replacement pages in Chapter 3: Item-by-item Guide to MDS Coding
- 1 replacement page in Chapter 5: Submission and Correction
- 2 replacement pages in Chapter 6: Medicare SNF PPS
- 2 replacement pages in Appendix A: Glossary
- 8 replacement pages for Appendix B: State Agency Contacts
Highlights of this update include:
- Chapter 2, page 11: Significant Change and Hospice-CMS encourages facilities to complete a significant change in status assessment (SCSA) when the Hospice benefit is elected
- Chapter 2, pages 39-40: New language related to Non-compliance with the assessment schedules and Late assessments for Medicare assessments
- Chapter 3, page 81: Clarified the code of “4”, Total Dependence, for G1hA (Eating) ADL
- Chapter 3, page 212: Added a definition of “back-dating” and clarified the date and signature of the RN Assessment Coordinator at R2a,b
- Chapter 3, pages 240-241: Clarified that flu season begins when the season’s flu vaccine is made available to the public, which may be earlier than the previous definition of flu season (October 1-March 31)
- Chapter 5, page 5: Clarifies information related to HIPPS codes and the final validation reports for billing purposes
- Remaining changes were primarily editorial in nature (removal of some words and sentences, rewording of some sentences, etc.)
It is the responsibility of the individuals who complete the MDS to have the most current RAI manual instructions in order to accurately complete the required assessments.
The revision table and replacement pages are available on the CMS website
If you have any questions or need further information, please contact Marjorie Ray, RN, Washington State RAI Coordinator, at (360) 725-2487 or e-mail at rayma@dshs.wa.gov
Sincerely,
Joyce Pashley Stockwell, Director
Residential Care Services
