The first of three satellite broadcasts by federal regulators on the new Minimum Data Set 3.0 will take place from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. (Eastern Time) Thursday. Officials with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will give a wide-ranging introduction of the new assessment tool, which is on track to go into effect Oct. 1. 

The session, which is mandatory for surveyors, regional CMS officials and various others, also should hold special appeal to providers, organizers said. The free event does not require advance registration. It will focus on major impacts and areas of change expected because of the tool’s historic overhaul. Afterward, the archived broadcast can be found at the CMS Survey and Certification Group site.