Overview
This presentation will report the 10 most confusing MDS questions identified by licensed nurses across the nation. The webinar will walk the participants through the RAI User’s Manual instructions, errata documents, and other CMS documentation to help them to understand the correct coding for each of the identified confusing questions. This topic is of great interest to long-term care nurses as well as NHAs who are interested in ensuring their MDS teams can correctly answer these payment or Quality Measure items.
Learning Objectives:
1. Identify three commonly misunderstood MDS coding item instructions.
2. Accurately code the MDS items for at least 3 or more of the MDS items causing the most confusion.
3. State the best resource to use for accurate MDS coding instructions.
Instructor
Carol Maher, RN, GERO-BC, RAC-MTA, RAC-MT, CPC
Carol Maher is a Board Certified Gerontological Registered Nurse with over 30 years of long term care experience and has worked in long term care in many roles. She worked as the MDS Coordinator in a 300 bed SNF in Pennsylvania for 8 years before moving to CA to become the MDS Coordinator/Director for a 1200 bed SNF in San Francisco. She has also worked as the MDS Coordinator in a SNF that typically had 60-75 residents on Medicare in addition to 160 long-term care residents. Most recently she was the Senior VP of Utilization Services and Director of Reimbursement for large multi-facility organizations.
Carol has worked as one of the Gold Standard nurses for MDS 3.0, serving on the RAP workgroup to prepare the way for the CAAs for MDS 3.0, and participating on a number of Technical Expert Panels related to MDS, Quality Measures and care planning. A sought-after speaker, she has given presentations at AANAC, AHCA and Leading Age national conferences as well as many state organization presentations. She is also a frequent author of articles related to the RAI process and PPS. Carol served as a member of the AANAC Board of Directors for 9 years. She is presently serving as the chair of the AANAC Expert Advisory Panel and as an AANAC Master Teacher of the RAC-CT and RAC-CTA certification courses. Ms. Maher is the Director of Education for Hansen Hunter, providing MDS and Medicare classes across the country, presenting monthly educational webinars and completing compliance audits. She is the author of Long-Term Care MDS Coordinator’s Field Guide (HCPRO 2016).
Credit Hours
- 1.5 hours for Licensed Nurses
- 1.5 NAB hours for Nursing Home Adminstrators
This pre-recorded webinar expires on May 24, 2026.