Five Features that Make Your Job Easier 

April 2012

CMS has strict regulations about submitting Modification Requests to correct errors in assessments that have been accepted into the QIES ASAP system. These are outlined in the RAI Manual, Chapter 5, pages 5-13. These regulations state that certain MDS items may not be corrected using the Modification Request Process. These include the following:

• Type of Assessment (A0310)
• Assessment Reference Date (A2300)
• Type of Provider (A0200) 
• Entry Date (A1600) on an entry tracking record 
• Discharge Date (A2000) on a discharge record

If the ARD or Type of Assessment on a submitted assessment is not correct, you must inactivate that assessment and then complete and submit a new, corrected MDS 3.0 with an ARD on or after the date the error was discovered. Payment will be based on the new ARD and can result in loss of payment for the days that would have been covered by the inactivated MDS. So, it is very important that this information is correct.

To help you you avoid these types of errors,
Hi-Tech has added a review window to the Edit MDS program. When you create a new assessment and choose the reasons for assessment, before you proceed to Section A, the program will display a review window, similar to the one on the right. Review this information carefully, and if it is not correct, click the Cancel button and make the necessary corrections.

Future Patches will add the Entry Date (A1600) and Discharge Date (A2000) to this window. 

The Edit MDS program automatically codes Type of Provider (A0200) as 1. Nursing home (SNF/NF) and does not allow access to 2. Swing Bed.

Release 12.03 added a new option that allows you to electronically sign (e-sign) the MDS 3.0 and maintain the entire MDS electronically without printing any pages for the residents' charts. 

You can also choose to complete an MDS by only printing the Signature Pages for the chart. To identify the assessment, you can include Section A, Page 1 as a cover page.

This change is included in Patches on our website. After your System Administrator installs Patches, an authorized user can select Libraries > Facility > Clinical Profile and click the Ok button twice to display the Electronic Medical Record Options (shown on right).

Under MDS 3.0 Print Signature Pages X, V & Z Only, select Include Page 1 of Section A and save the changes. The next time you print the Signature Pages, this page will also be printed when you print Signature Pages.

To learn more about MDS Electronic Signature options, please read the 12.03 Update Memo.

Hi-Four: Patches Includes the 7-Column Worksheet for April 1 MDS 3.0

Patches include changes to the MDS 7-Column Worksheet to accommodate the CMS April 1 changes to the MDS 3.0. This revised form includes the items on the Comprehensive MDS 3.0, Version 1.10.4. It no longer includes items that were removed from the MDS Comprehensive form as of April 1.

Select this form through Reporting > MDS > 7 Column Worksheet. Print a blank form, or select a resident and a specific assessment to print those responses in the first column. Use the worksheet to gather and hand-write MDS responses that will then be entered into the computer. Please note the following:  

• The handwritten form cannot be used as the resident's chart copy.
• Printing the 7-column form does not give an MDS a Complete status or make it ready for submission.
• After you enter responses into the computer, e-sign or print a Chart Copy of that record.

Please note that CMS encourages real-time completion of the MDS rather than hand-written completion followed by data entry. 

Release 12.03 separated the Activities/Events module into two separate modules: Activities and Events. Hi-Tech suggests that you use:

• Activities to record items such as bingo, birthday party, music hour, etc.
• Events to record health-related items such as ER visits, falls, infection, flu, etc. If necessary, add security to Events to limit user access to confidential health information.

The update process saved all previous Activity/Event records under Activities. Please contact Hi-Tech Support for assistance in transferring Event-type records from Activities into Events.  

If you were not tracking falls under Activities/Events, and you want to start accessing Falls records from Edit MDS or Edit RCA (Maine Residential Care Assessment):
You must record falls as Events. Set up the Falls record under Libraries > Documentation > Events and indicate that this record Satisfies the Falls items in the MDS and/or RCA. 

Record falls when they occur through Documentation > Events > Edit Resident Events.

You can access these records through Edit MDS or Edit RCA, Section J: 

• In Edit MDS click Pull J1800 Responses from Event Detail (or View Event Detail) to View the recorded falls and decide how to answer J1800.
• In Edit RCA, click Pull J-7 a/b responses from Event Detail. If Falls records are dated within 30 and 31-180 days of the Assessment Start Date, the program will checkmark J7a and/or J7b.

For more information on Activities and Events, on the left side of the Hi-Tech menu, click Update Memos. Choose System Update...Instructions 12.03. 

What are Patches?

Patches are changes that Hi-Tech makes to its applications after the current System Release. We post these to the System and File Updates page of our website. Only authorized users have access to this page.

Hi-Tech posts Patches frequently to provide small adjustments to our programs. We do not notify our clients about these minor changes, and we suggest that you check frequently to download these minor changes.

When we post critical Patches, we notify the following people at your facility:

• Our Update Contacts*. We will include instructions for downloading Patches. Please notify your Hi-Tech Users when you have downloaded Patches. See more below.
• The users of the applications that have been changed. We will ask you to contact your System Administrator to verify that Patches have been downloaded.

*Update Contacts: Before you download Patches, verify that your Hi-Tech System is at Current Release number, displayed at the top of the main menu. Example: Release 12.03 (for 2012.March). Or, from any Hi-Tech menu, press the F1 key on your keyboard to view the current Release number.

The F1 screen also displays the Downloads...: ENH date--the most recent date that you downloaded Patches. If this date is older than the Patches date on the website, we recommend that you download the newer Patches.

Users do not need to exit the Hi-Tech System when you download Patches.

Have you been using your 2012 Hi-Q Training Points to learn more about our applications? 

Did you know you can still use your remaining points from 2011?

Call Hi-Tech to schedule on-site or phone training.  

• Phone training: 1/2 Point per hour.
• On-site training: 1 Point per hour, and no charge for our travel time.
  (Travel expenses could be incurred.)
• Training in the Hi-Tech conference room: 1/2 Point per hour.
• Webinars: no Points. Review our Webinar Schedule.

We encourage you to forward this Hi-Tech Hi-Five to a co-worker who will benefit by knowing about these new features. Simply click the Forward Email link below.