SMQT Resident Assessment and PASRR 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A state's PASRR program must include which two categories of individuals for evaluation?
- Dementia and traumatic brain injury
- Serious mental illness (SMI) and intellectual disability (ID) (Correct answer)
- Depression and substance use disorder
- Autism and physical disability
Correct answer: Serious mental illness (SMI) and intellectual disability (ID)
Federal PASRR law specifically targets individuals with serious mental illness and intellectual disability as the two populations requiring screening and evaluation.
Question 2: During a survey, a resident tells the surveyor she was never told about her care plan or invited to participate in care conferences. This is a potential violation of which resident right?
- Right to privacy
- Right to participate in care planning and treatment decisions (Correct answer)
- Right to refuse all medications
- Right to a private room
Correct answer: Right to participate in care planning and treatment decisions
Residents have a federal right to be informed about and participate in their care planning and treatment decisions under 42 CFR §483.10.
Question 3: The MDS Discharge assessment must be completed within how many days after the resident leaves the facility?
- 1 day
- 3 days
- 7 days (Correct answer)
- 14 days
Correct answer: 7 days
The Discharge assessment (return not anticipated) must be completed within 7 days after the resident's discharge from the facility.
Question 4: A surveyor finds that a resident identified with intellectual disability has no specialized services documented in the record and no PASRR documentation at all. The best immediate surveyor action is to:
- Issue an immediate jeopardy citation and close the survey
- Review the admission record and request PASRR documentation from the facility and state agency (Correct answer)
- Assume PASRR was waived by the attending physician
- Interview the resident's family and conclude the survey
Correct answer: Review the admission record and request PASRR documentation from the facility and state agency
Surveyors should request PASRR documentation from the facility and coordinate with the state to determine whether the screening process was followed.
Question 5: Which MDS section is used to document a resident's skin condition, including pressure injuries?
- Section G
- Section I
- Section M (Correct answer)
- Section N
Correct answer: Section M
Section M (Skin Conditions) of the MDS captures pressure injuries, skin treatments, and other skin integrity data.
Question 6: A resident's MDS indicates a BIMS score of 6. How should the surveyor interpret this finding?
- Intact cognition — no further assessment needed
- Moderately impaired cognition
- Severely impaired cognition (Correct answer)
- Score is invalid and should be re-administered
Correct answer: Severely impaired cognition
BIMS scores of 0–7 indicate severely impaired cognition, meaning the resident has significant difficulty with memory and daily decision-making.
Question 7: A nursing facility serving Medicaid residents fails to conduct PASRR Level I screens on new admissions. Under OBRA 1987, which agency has enforcement authority over this violation?
- The Joint Commission
- The state survey agency acting on behalf of CMS (Correct answer)
- The resident's managed care organization
- The local health department
Correct answer: The state survey agency acting on behalf of CMS
State survey agencies, acting under CMS authority, have enforcement responsibility for PASRR compliance in Medicaid-certified nursing facilities.
SMQT Resident Assessment and PASRR 5
A state's PASRR program must include which two categories of individuals for evaluation?