Pressure Ulcer Prevention for Patients in Wheelchairs

In most cases pressure ulcer prevention can be accomplished by risk assessment followed by common sense choices for pressure reduction.  In these days of evidence based medicine, health care providers need to listen to the evidence and implement best practices to...

Online Training for MDS 3.0 Section M: Skin Condition

  This is the video of the pressure ulcer assessment and coding training session for MDS 3.0 Section M: Skin Condition that I delivered in Las Vegas on August 10, 2010.  It was posted online by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on January 20, 2011. ...

Pressure Ulcer Guide Exhibited in Las Vegas at NPUAP

I just got back from the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel Biennial Meeting in Las Vegas, where my Pocket Guide to Pressure Ulcers was exhibited and given its debut in digital format.  The guide was authored by myself and Elizabeth Ayello PhD, RN, and has sold...

Common Questions on Coding for MDS 3.0 Section M: Skin Conditions

I recently gave another training session for nursing home professionals for MDS 3.0 Section M: Skin Conditions.  In the audience were nurses, directors of nursing, administrators, MDS coordinators and a smattering of physical therapists, doctors, and social workers. ...

Straight Talk on Reverse Staging of Pressure Ulcers

The issue of “reverse staging” or “backstaging” of pressure ulcers as they heal is often a cause for confusion, even for some experts.  With this blog post I hope to clarify things and explain why reverse staging is now discouraged when assessing wounds, and place the...

Does MDS 3.0 Section M Avoid the Unavoidable?

The revised Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) with the new MDS 3.0 Section M: Skin Conditions radically expands the assessment process for pressure ulcers in Medicare certified skilled nursing facilities.  In contrast to the prior version, there are data fields for...