On February 23, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that the transition of the Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessment submission and reporting functionality to the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES) will occur on April 17, 2023. To properly prepare for the transition, the QIES Assessment Submission and Processing (ASAP) system for MDS submissions will be turned off on Thursday, April 13, at 8:00 pm EST.
Providers should submit completed MDS records prior to 8:00 pm EST on April 13th to QIES (ASAP) or wait until 8:00 am EST on April 17th to submit data in iQIES. Providers are expected to take into account all requirements when determining the date they submit completed MDS records, including but not limited to, submission timeliness, claims processing, and care planning requirements. CMS will provide additional information through various email notifications regarding training, technical guidance, details on what to expect, and more.
Failure to obtain access to iQIES prior to April 17, 2023, will impact providers’ ability to submit MDS records. Previous CMS communications stated that nursing home and swing bed providers who are required to submit data to CMS must have at least one staff person assigned and approved as the facility Provider Security Official (PSO), who works for the provider and is responsible for approving all other users for their facility. Information and instructions to register for an iQIES account can be found here.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
Nursing facilities must ensure that they have registered for and obtained access to iQIES prior to April 17, 2023, or their ability to submit MDS records will be impacted. Access should be requested as soon as possible, as doing so will allow for a smoother transition prior to the go live date. Facilities that have not identified and registered a PSO will not be able to complete a user role request. At a minimum, at least one PSO needs to be registered for each provider, but CMS highly recommends at least two PSOs are designated so there is a higher likelihood someone will be available to approve/reject iQIES access requests. The PSO must work for the provider and cannot be a vendor.
Discussion Points
- Review your policies and procedures for MDS submission to ensure they have been updated with the latest guidelines.
- Train appropriate staff on the new MDS submission system, and submission timeliness, claims processing, and care planning requirements. Document that this training occurred and file the signed document in each employee’s education file.
- Audit to ensure registration for iQIES has occurred in the appropriate time frame, and that your facility has at least one PSO.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, LLC for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
