We build on fall prevention and root cause analysis by asking compliance committees to take a deeper look at resident falls through targeted audits. We share two practical tools to guide record reviews, surface contributing factors, and strengthen a culture of safety and readiness across the whole facility.
• Building on prior fall prevention conversation and resident experience
• Using compliance and QAPI as an extra set of eyes
• Auditing records for missed root cause signals
• Focusing reviews on high fall risk residents
• Investigating residents with frequent falls for patterns
• Using the AHRQ On-Time Falls Prevention worksheet
• Checking whether staff training is enough to mitigate falls
• Using the Alliant Health Solutions fall prevention toolkit
• Looking beyond the fall to behavioral health and other changes
• Treating fall prevention as an interdisciplinary team responsibility
• Reinforcing survey readiness through consistent practices and engagement
I want you to take a look at those blogs

A troubling statistic sits at the center of today’s conversation: 43% of nursing home falls with major injury and hospitalization went unreported through the MDS. We dig into what that means for resident safety, survey outcomes, quality measures, and reimbursement—and how to fix it fast. Joining me is Janeen Earwood, a physical therapist with four decades of experience in long‑term care, rehab leadership, and analytics. Together, we connect the dots between OIG’s findings, CMS’s plans to validate MDS entries with Medicare and Medicaid claims, and the operational steps facilities can take to prevent harm while protecting data integrity.

Join Allan and Anne as they explore a tough topic that everyone struggles with: grief. Anne shares her personal stories about her journey as a caregiver, and how we can help each other remain strong and feel supported in the midst of sadness.

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Welcome to Verity's Caregiving Podcast Series! Join cohosts Anne Blust and Allan Stegemann as they navigate the crucial, compassionate, and complicated world of caregiving. Through sharing personal stories and enlisting guests from different facets of the caregiving world, learn from and relate to other humans experiencing the many ups and downs that come with caring for others.

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Numbers can light the way or lead us astray. We break down how to build dashboards in long-term care that leaders can actually trust, from defining a “fall with major injury” to validating every step between an incident report and a board-ready chart. As a registered nurse and healthcare analyst, I share a practical blueprint for turning quality data into safer care, faster decisions, and fewer surprises.

We map a systems approach to antipsychotic use in nursing homes, from admission screening to documentation, coding, and survey readiness. Our goal is a practical stewardship model that protects residents, preserves data integrity, and withstands CMS scrutiny.

• facility assessment confirming behavioral health capacity
• pre-admission screening and verified diagnoses
• CMS exclusions and how to document them
• pharmacy reconciliation and indication clarity
• ordered vs administered tracking with exception flags
• alignment of claims, MDS, and ICD coding
• nonpharmacologic strategies and target behavior tracking
• gradual dose reduction considerations for long-stay residents
• hospice-related use and how to explain it
• education plans for nurses, providers, and billing
• antipsychotic stewardship led by the compliance committee
• escalation to psychiatric and neurocognitive specialists

Please feel free to reach out to Verity Consulting at VerityTeam.com if you'd like further assistance with your healthcare compliance needs

We unpack how CMS will monitor antipsychotic use in nursing homes, why the national average is changing, and what datasets will be cross-checked to produce public quality measures. We set the stage for part two, where we dig into practical steps to strengthen documentation, data integrity, and care processes.

• OIG findings and the CMS refocus
• reasons for increased oversight and risk signals
• how MDS and claims will be cross-referenced
• shift in national average to 16.98%
• implications for star ratings and care compare
• focus on accurate capture, verification, and data integrity
• preview of nuts-and-bolts actions in part two

Please feel free to reach out to Verity Consulting at Verity Team.com if you'd like further assistance with your healthcare compliance needs

We trace how OIG’s guidance elevates patient safety and quality from ideals to daily compliance work, and share lessons from Corporate Integrity Agreements that separate paper programs from living systems. Practical tools, clear dashboards, and a culture of “why” turn metrics into safer resident care.

• OIG focus on quality and patient safety as compliance outcomes
• Building a facility framework with clear indicators and thresholds
• Using dashboards to measure, share, and act on trends
• False claims risk tied to substandard care and billing
• Lessons from external monitoring and CIAs
• Culture of inquiry at board and frontline levels
• Resources from CMS, AHRQ, and NIH for frameworks
• Root cause analysis for falls and adverse events
• Competency alignment with acuity and specialized units
• Walking rounds for real-world validation of safe practice

Please feel free to reach out to Verity Consulting at VerityTeam.com if you'd like further assistance with your healthcare compliance needs