The Oct. 1 implementation of the new version of the Minimum Data Set 3.0 has sent skilled nursing providers scurrying to prepare staff members, and also service suppliers rushing to get helpful tools in caregivers’ hands.
Medication management and data software company ActualMeds is the latest to jump in. Tuesday, it announced the release of a new service, InConcert, that focuses on ensuring that patients’ medication listings are up to date.
By helping with administrative tasks to complete newly mandated processes, and improving the accuracy of information around residents’ medication, the ActualMeds tools can save nursing homes invaluable time and resources, the company said.
“We know from our clients that their nursing resources are already stretched far too thin,” James Duke, PharmD, and vice president of clinical pharmacist services at ActualMeds, said in a statement. “That’s why our turnkey solution augments their teams and streamlines processes with our automated medication reconciliation and expert clinical support instead of hiring more staff or adding more work to existing staff.”
Safe patient discharges and the creation of MDS documentation reports are other support goals of the InConcert platform. The new tool also can be integrated with existing pharmacy and electronic health record systems, thus reducing manual data entry or transcription errors, company leaders said.
The new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rules on Patient Drive Payment Model payments are set to go into effect at the end of the month, when the new fiscal year starts. The build-up to the changeover date of Oct. 1 has been more dramatic than usual this year, given the vast revamping of the MDS form. An initial draft of the new MDS was issued in April, after which the CMS made dozens of changes before releasing finalized item sets as well as an updated resident assessment instrument manual last month.
