Three recommendations on PDPM preparation by Reliant Rehabilitation

The new Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) for skilled nursing facilities begins October 1, 2019. The PDPM system will rely on more than 180 MDS item fields and completely transforms the existing system Medicare Part A payment system for skilled nursing facilities. Staff roles and facility processes must be substantially modified to operate effectively under PDPM. Reliant Rehabilitation’s Chief Strategy Officer, David Tate, has provided recommendations of what can be done now to prepare for the PDPM as the implementation is less than two months away.

1. Go beyond admission paperwork for patient assessments. Under PDPM, SNFs have an opportunity to identify and treat conditions and diagnoses in the patient beyond the primary condition that caused the SNF admission. An admission team should review and improve the interview tools that evaluators are using and incorporate additional test results that may not have been included in the initial admission paperwork.
2. Improve evaluations and coordination of evaluation results. As the interdisciplinary team focuses on more comprehensive evaluations, it’s key to have the tools in place to more systematically capture, coordinate and document these results. Without a process in place, this valuable information won’t drive changes in the way that care is delivered and documented.
3. Measure quality of MDS coding today

If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Dani Rivas, Regional Director  of Business Development at drivas@reliant-rehab.com.