Locking Sections Prior to ARD

[BrookeJayneRN, DIT]

Talino if you're out there I want to know what you think about this because you're the smartest coordinator I know.

My regional mds consultant swears it is OK to lock sections of the mds assessment PRIOR to the ard, even the ones that are not interview sections (g,h,i,m,n) as long as u go back and recheck it. Aside from the stupidity of having to look at it again why on earth would u want it to appear that you've locked a section before the ard? There's no way she can be correct, right? If you say she is right, then I'll believe it. But that's the only way I'm buying what she's selling.

[Talino]

I can't confirm what the consultant is implying with "lock". You are correct that the MDS should not be started (sign and dated) until after the ARD, except for the interview sets. The MDS can then be locked after the RN certifies completion in Sec Z. "Locking" in this instance means the MDS is checked for integrity by the software prior to submission.

[BrookeJayneRN, DIT]

Thanks.

[BrookeJayneRN, DIT]

And to expand a bit on what she means by locking...answering the sections (i.e. section g, h, l, m, n) prior to the ard, closing those sections with a date prior to the ard and submitting them to cms that way.