Nurse assessment coordinators (NACs) and other MDS assessors must be ready to code multiple new standardized patient assessment data elements (SPADEs) and other MDS items that will be required to meet the data submission threshold in the Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program (SNF QRP), as well as new or revised items that aren’t part of the SNF QRP, effective this October 1.

However, it’s not time for practice coding scenarios just yet. The draft version 1.18.0 MDS item sets and their companion MDS 3.0 Item Set Change History for October 2020 Version 1.18.0 remain in draft format. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) hasn’t announced a timeline for releasing a revised Long-Term Care Facility Resident Assessment Instrument 3.0 User’s Manual, and significant training opportunities from CMS are still months away.

Nevertheless, AANAC master teachers recommend NACs and other interdisciplinary team (IDT) members go ahead and take a bird’s eye look at the following revisions: