MDS 3.0 nursing home resident assessment tool goes into effect today

Perhaps the largest operational change in nursing homes since the beginning of the prospective payment system is taking place today. Implementation of MDS 3.0, a resident assessment tool, starts.

Among the changes that will stem from MDS 3.0 is the introduction of resident interviews to the assessment process. The new system also changes the payment system for Medicare Part A therapy. Only one-half of concurrent therapy minutes will count toward RUG-IV 66 classification. MDS 3.0 also replaces Resident Assessment Protocols (RAPs) with Care Area Assessments (CAAs).

Nursing homes have had to update their computer hardware and software, change policies and train employees to prepare for MDS 3.0. One wrinkle of the new system is that RUG-IV, a case-mix classification system that works in tandem with MDS 3.0, will not fully take effect until October 2011. An interim version of RUG-IV starts today.