MDS
Texas Minimum Data Set (MDS)
The MDS is a standardized collection of demographic and clinical information that describes a person's overall condition. All licensed nursing facilities in Texas are required to submit MDS assessments for all residents admitted into their facility.
News & Alerts
CMSNet VPN Client Software Upgrade 04/02/2019
Please be aware that CMS is upgrading the current Juniper VPN Client software required to access the CMSNet secure network when using QIES web applications (MDS Submissions, CASPER, EPOC and PBJ). The rollout is by facility type, with Swing Beds starting on 4/8/2019 and Nursing Homes on 6/30/2019.
Starting on those dates, the upgrade process will be triggered automatically the first-time a user launches their current Juniper VPN Client and logs into CMSNet. Upon successful logon, the new Pulse Secure Desktop Client software will be downloaded, and the user prompted to start the installation process.
Please be aware the initial installation of this new client software requires administrative level rights on the user’s Windows PC. Those staff without that level of rights should plan to have someone from their IT area available to enter their administrative credentials when prompted. Once the software installs successfully, administrative rights are not required to use it.
For any questions or assistance, please contact the CMSNet Help Desk at 888-238-2122 or MDCN.MCO@palmettogba.com.
New Texas MDS RAI Coordinator 03/05/2019
Susan Edgeman is the new Texas MDS Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) Coordinator. The Texas HHS MDS website will be updated with her contact information shortly, but in the meantime you may contact Susan at Susan.Edgeman@HHSC.state.tx.us or (210) 431-5106 with questions on the MDS 3.0 RAI Manual, coding MDS assessments/records and clinical questions involving MDS.
For the months of March and April, please copy Robert Ochoa at Robert.Ochoa@HHSC.state.tx.us when emailing Susan with MDS questions.
Please note that questions regarding Medicare billing, payment allowances or Medicare policy must be addressed with the CMS Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) for Texas, which is Novitas Solutions at (855) 252-8782.
Questions regarding Medicaid billing, payment allowances or Texas Medicaid policy must be addressed with the Texas Provider Claims Services Hotline at (512) 438-2000. Questions regarding completion of the LTCMI for Medicaid residents must be addressed with the TMHP Help Desk at (800) 727-5436. You may also review the information hosted on the TMHP Long Term Care Providers website.
MDS 3.0 Quality Measures User’s Manual v12.0 Now Available 03/05/2019
CMS has posted MDS 3.0 QM User’s Manual v12.0 to their Quality Measures website, as well as a PDF file, Quality Measure Identification Number by CMS Reporting Module Table V1.7, which lists all the CMS quality measures calculated using MDS 3.0 data and reported by CMS. The prior QM User’s Manual v11.0 will eventually move to the Quality Measures Archive website.
MDS 3.0 RAI Manual v1.16R Errata v1.1 03/05/2019
CMS has posted an errata document to their MDS 3.0 RAI Manual website, which contains revisions to Chapter 3, Section J of the current v1.16R RAI Manual, to include:
- Address coding item J0200 when the resident interview should have been conducted but was not conducted within the look-back period, and
- Amends the criteria for major surgery and corrects the associated examples.
Changed pages are marked with the footer, “October 2018 (R)”.
MDS 3.0 Draft v3.00.0 Data Specifications Available 03/05/2019
CMS has posted draft MDS 3.0 Data Specifications v3.00.0 to their CMS MDS 3.0 Technical Information website. This version is scheduled to become effective October 1, 2019 and includes significant changes to accommodate the CMS move to utilization of the Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) grouper.
jRAVEN v1.6.1 Released 02/06/2019
CMS has released v1.6.1 of their Resident Assessment Validation and Entry System (jRAVEN) software to the QIES Technical Support Office (QTSO) Nursing Home/Swing Bed Providers Software website. jRAVEN is a free Java based software application which provides an option for facilities to collect and maintain MDS assessment data for subsequent transmission to the appropriate state and/or national data repository.
This release includes:
- Updates to match MDS Validation Utility (VUT) v2.2.2
- Updates from Errata v2.02.4 to the current MDS data specifications
- Windows 10 required updates
You will find jRAVEN installation and user guides on the QTSO Nursing Home/Swing Bed Providers Reference & Manuals website.
For additional questions related to jRAVEN or for technical support, contact the QIES Help Desk at 800-339-9313 or email help@qtso.com.
MDS 3.0 Errata v2.02.4 for the Data Specifications Posted 02/06/2019
CMS has posted Errata v2.02.4 for the final v2.02.1 of the MDS 3.0 Data Specifications to their CMS MDS 3.0 Technical Information website. To date, there are two issues identified in the errata involving edits 3896a and 3897, while edit 3907 has been removed.
MDS 3.0 Draft v1.17.0 Item Sets Posted 02/06/2019
CMS has posted draft v1.17.0 of the MDS 3.0 Item Sets to their CMS MDS 3.0 Technical Information website. These items sets are scheduled to go into effect October 1, 2019.
CMS jRAVEN 1.6.0 Now Available 10/02/2018
Resident Assessment Validation and Entry System (jRAVEN) v1.6.0, which includes the data specifications and item sets going into effect with the Oct. 1, 2018 update to MDS, has been posted to the QIES Technical Support Office jRAVEN webpage. CMS created this free Java-based software application to allow facilities to collect, maintain and transmit MDS assessment data.
Installation and user guides are available on the jRAVEN References & Manuals webpage.
You may also contact the QIES Help Desk at 800-339-9313 or help@qtso.com for help with installation and technical support.
MDS 3.0 RAI Manual v1.16 Now Available 09/18/2018
The RAI Manual and associated files are now in the Related Links section of the CMS MDS 3.0 RAI Manual website. The v1.16 of the MDS 3.0 RAI manual goes into effect on Oct. 1, 2018.
- RAI User Manual v1.16 (PDF file)
- RAI User Manual v1.16 Replacement Pages & Change Tables (PDF file)
Update File for CMS jRAVEN 1.5.0 09/06/2018
CMS has posted an updated .jar file for the current jRAVEN v1.5.0. Users of the free CMS jRAVEN MDS assessment software are asked to contact the QIES Help Desk at 800-339-9313 or help@qtso.com before applying this updated file. You may find this zip file on the new QTSO Nursing Home Providers Software website.
Please note that this is not the update to address the Oct. 1, 2018 MDS release. That update will be released soon as jRAVEN v1.6.0.
MDS 3.0 Data Specifications v2.02.1 & Errata v2.02.3 Released 09/06/2018
CMS has released the MDS 3.0 Data Specifications v2.02.1 scheduled to go into effect Oct. 1, 2018. These MDS data specifications, used by MDS assessment software developers, were considered the final version for this release. However, after the document was posted, an error was found with edit 3896a and so Errata Document v2.02.3 was released to address it. Both files are available in the Downloads section of the CMS MDS 3.0 Technical Information website.
MDS 3.0 Items Sets v1.16.1 Released 09/06/2018
CMS has released the MDS 3.0 Item Sets v1.16.1 scheduled to go into effect Oct. 1, 2018. These items sets, which contain the questions for each MDS assessment type, are considered the final versions for this release. This zip file is available in the Downloads section of the CMS MDS 3.0 Technical Information website.
IMDS 3.0 Data Specifications Errata v2.02.2 Now Available 07/10/2018
Updated errata v2.02.2 has been posted for Draft v2.02.0 of the MDS 3.0 Data Specifications, which are scheduled to go into effect on Oct. 1, 2018. Three additional issues have been identified; one additional edit was defined, one existing edit was revised, and one correction was identified for the Edit Change Report posted on April 9, 2018. This document is available in the Downloads section of the CMS MDS 3.0 Technical Information website.
MDS 3.0 Item Sets Draft v1.16.0R Released 06/12/2018
CMS has released draft v1.16.0R of the MDS 3.0 Item Sets scheduled to become effective Oct. 1, 2018. This file may be found in the Downloads section of the CMS MDS 3.0 Technical Information website.
The following significant changes are included:
- revisions to discharge goal coding instructions in GG0130 (self-care) and GG0170 (mobility);
- addition of skip pattern language to GG0170M and GG0170N;
- revisions to skip pattern language to GG0170Q1 and GG0170Q3;
- addition of coding instructions to J2000 (prior surgery);
- revisions to skip pattern language to M0210 (unhealed pressure ulcers/injuries) and M0300G (number of unhealed pressure ulcers/injuries); and the
- addition of coding instructions to N2001 (drug regimen review) and N2005 (medication intervention).
There are additional changes to text in Sections C, GG, I, J, M, N and O. Please see the Item Changes document from the above file for details.
Provider (PL) and Information (IL) Letters
All Providers are Required to Redo Nurse Aide Registry (NAR) Searches Conducted from June 14, 2017, through August 3, 2017
All Providers are Required to Redo Employee Misconduct Registry (EMR) Searches Conducted from June 9, 2017, through July 27, 2017
Provider Requirements for MDS 3.0 (replaces PL #10-19)
Preadmission Screening and Resident Review Minimum Data Set Long Term Care Medicaid Information Rejections
Nursing Facility Assessments and Minimum Data Set Assessment Data Accuracy
MDS 3.0 Section Q: Referral to the Community: NF Responsibilities and Local Contact Agency Information (replaces IL #11-57 and PL #11-20)
Pre-Admission Screening and Resident Review (PASRR) Process Changing
New Nursing Facilities and MDS Coordinators
Training
Training is an ongoing process. It is beneficial to review all training resources and MDS documents periodically to ensure that you did not forget or misunderstand anything. Texas does not require nursing facility staff to be MDS certified in order to enter or submit Minimum Data Set (MDS) data. However, registered nurse (RN) assessment coordinators who sign that the MDS is complete for residents with Medicaid reimbursement are required to take RUG training. This course is offered online through the Texas State University Continuing Education RUG Training website.
The primary tool for MDS is the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) User's Manual. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) also offers online MDS training on topics that include the MDS schedule; item-by-item guidance for completing assessments; and resident assessment protocols, corrections and the prospective payment program for Medicare skilled nursing facilities. Reference the MDS 3.0 RAI Manual on the CMS website.
One of the best, frequently-updated sources for MDS training is The MDS Mentor, written by Shelly Nanney, RN, RAC-CT, Texas MDS RAI Coordinator, and Brian Johnson, Texas MDS Automation Coordinator
Software
Nursing facility and swing bed facility MDS personnel enter MDS information into MDS data entry software. Facilities may purchase third party MDS software or use the free MDS software provided by CMS. CMS offers free java Resident and Validation Entry (jRAVEN) software on the Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (QIES) Technical Support Office (QTSO) website at www.QTSO.com. Technical assistance for jRAVEN is available by calling the QTSO Help Desk at 1-800-339-9313.
Backup Data
Nursing facilities are responsible for ensuring that their MDS data is backed up. Unexpected problems can occur that could cause the loss of electronic MDS data. The most frequent issue is hard drive failure. A natural disaster such as fire, flood or tornado may damage software or hardware. Human error can also cause data to be deleted or overwritten. Backing up the MDS data will ensure that MDS assessments are retrievable and not lost.
Refer to 'Get Started' on the HHS website for additional information >>
