Here's how to use the AANAC Web site to meet your needs as a clinician involved in the RAI/MDS process. Go to "My AANAC" for the latest news and all the information you need to do your job! You can get to "My AANAC" by clicking on "My AANAC" on the toolbar at the top of the homepage.
- If you have a question, join the Case Mix Discussion Group (CMDG), the leading SNF MDS/PPS Discussion Group in the country (upper left hand column of the "My AANAC" section of our Web site). Chances are you will soon receive your answer with more than 700 clinicians nationwide that participate in an online discussion of issues primarily related to Medicare reimbursement in nursing homes across the country. This discussion group provides both information and support. Support is not to be overlooked as too many clinicians involved in completing the MDS feel isolated and unsupported in their roles. Warning: There are 700 clinicians who participate in this discussion group, so you will receive up to 70-80 email per day.
- "Need to Know": Materials posted under "Need to Know" can be downloaded immediately, reviewed and incorporated into the facility work process immediately or by the effective date listed in the piece.
- "What's New": The daily postings of regulatory, management, in-service aids, forms, policies and procedures, and clinical protocols directly from our members and are offered for use by other members. They are not peer reviewed and AANAC does not endorse or verify the accuracy of these documents. So, exercise due diligence in your decision to use the materials.
- NAC News: This is our weekly online newsletter which is posted to the "My AANAC" section of our Web site each Tuesday with the exception of major holidays and during our conference week. Questions from the SNF MDS/PPS Discussion Group are selected by our clinical editor, sent out for review by a national advisory panel and subsequently posted in NAC News weekly. When we post NAC News our web hit counter goes through the roof with nearly 700 hits. Why is it so popular? Because we post questions and answers that come directly from our Discussion Group with the correct answers. How do we know our answers are correct? Because the questions and answers are reviewed for accuracy by our national advisory panel.
In addition to the Q&As, as we call them, there is generally a lead article on a topic of current concern and Spotlight. In Spotlight we like to showcase Nurse Assessment Coordinators (NACs) who deserve recognition. Do you know of a NAC who is doing a really great job? Let us know. Send us an email about her or him at info@aanac.org and we will follow up with the recognition all our great members deserve.
- Expert's Toolbox: The Expert's Toolbox is an area of the Web site which provides members with easy access to those materials which are critical to expert job performance as a Nurse Assessment Coordinator and all involved in the RAI/MDS process. If you do not have these materials, download them now and incorporate them into your daily work process. Two of the most popular tools are the ICD-9 codes and searchable survey tags in the Expert's Toolbox.
Visit the AANAC Homepage for:
- National Certification Program: Through this program students are taught how to code an MDS from beginning to end including all the details of scheduling and timing your MDS workload. Each student is required to take a total of 10 courses related to coding an MDS. We offer our program in several different formats to fit your learning style. After completion of the 10 courses with a score of 80% or higher on each final exam, the clinician is Certified as a Resident Assessment Coordinator - Certified (RAC-CT). To check out our National Certification Program and get a full description, go to the homepage and scroll down to "AANAC MDS Certification Program" and click on the link.
- National Conference: Our National Conferences, which are held in the spring and fall feature: nationally recognized experts speaking on the most up-to-date and current information related to the MDS process; the 3-Day Certification Program as a Pre-Conference offering; an opportunity to network with your peers from across the nation; opportunities to explore the exhibit hall and learn more about technology; services and products currently available; as well as recognition of your peers at our Awards Luncheon. Join us for the only conferences which are specific to meeting your needs as a Nurse Assessment Coordinator.
Located on the Tool Bar Across the Top of the Homepage:
- Fully searchable Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): The questions posted each week in NAC News are archived to FAQs on our Web site each week. In addition, any recent FAQs from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are also posted to this part of our Web site. This database of current FAQs is fully searchable. So, for example, if you remember seeing a question recently in NAC News that you need to access again, you can type in a few key words and locate the question and the answer from any previous NAC News questions and answers.
- Documents Library: We have a fully searchable Documents Library. Anything posted to the homepage is simultaneously archived to the documents library so, at a later date, a member can go to the Documents Library, search for the document and retrieve it for use.
In Your Mailbox:
- Quarterly Newsletter: Each quarter, AANAC mails members a hardcopy newsletter that contains relevant information related to coding an MDS.
- Weekly Email Blasts: Each week, AANAC sends an email to all members entitled "AANAC Keeps You Informed" that includes new materials posted on AANAC's web site, announcements, and other vital information to keep our members up-to-date and informed.
Move to Certification
- Changing from Credentialing to Certification: In an effort to ensure a continued level of competency in the RAI/MDS Process, AANAC is moving from a Credentialing program to a Certification program. Beginning January 1, 2007, AANAC will require that Certified healthcare professionals currently holding the Resident Assessment Coordinator - Credentialed (RAC-C) to recertify bi-annually by demonstrating a continued level of proficiency in the RAI process.
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