SMQT Resident Rights and Dignity 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under 42 CFR §483.10, when must a nursing facility provide written information about resident rights?
- Within 30 days of admission
- Prior to or at the time of admission (Correct answer)
- Within 72 hours of admission
- At the first care plan meeting
Correct answer: Prior to or at the time of admission
Facilities must provide written information about resident rights prior to or at the time of admission and periodically during the stay.
Question 2: A resident who is cognitively intact asks to manage their own personal finances. Under resident rights regulations, the facility must:
- Require the family to serve as financial representative
- Allow the resident to manage their own financial affairs (Correct answer)
- Appoint a staff member to co-manage the resident's funds
- Hold all funds in a facility trust account automatically
Correct answer: Allow the resident to manage their own financial affairs
Residents have the right to manage their own financial affairs, and facilities cannot require residents to deposit funds with the facility.
Question 3: Which action by a surveyor best evaluates whether a facility is honoring residents' right to choose their daily schedule?
- Review the facility's posted activity calendar
- Interview residents about whether they can choose when to wake up, eat, and sleep (Correct answer)
- Confirm the facility has a written resident rights policy
- Check if the social worker documents schedule preferences in the care plan
Correct answer: Interview residents about whether they can choose when to wake up, eat, and sleep
Directly interviewing residents about their daily schedule choices is the most reliable way to assess whether the right is being honored in practice.
Question 4: A resident's family member requests that the facility not share the resident's diagnosis with the resident. Under HIPAA and CMS regulations, the facility should:
- Honor the family's request to protect the resident from distress
- Disclose the diagnosis only to the attending physician
- Provide the resident access to their own medical records regardless of family preference (Correct answer)
- Require the family to obtain a court order before restricting information
Correct answer: Provide the resident access to their own medical records regardless of family preference
Residents have the right to access their own medical records and to be fully informed of their health status; family preferences cannot override this right.
Question 5: Under CMS regulations, how long does a facility have to resolve a resident's grievance after it is submitted?
- 24 hours
- 3 days
- Within a reasonable time frame, not to exceed 15 calendar days (Correct answer)
- 30 days
Correct answer: Within a reasonable time frame, not to exceed 15 calendar days
Facilities must resolve grievances within a reasonable time frame not exceeding 15 calendar days, unless the resident agrees to an extension.
Question 6: A resident's right to vote in federal, state, and local elections is:
- Forfeited upon admission to a nursing facility
- Preserved under the resident rights regulations (Correct answer)
- Contingent on a physician's determination of cognitive capacity
- Only applicable if the resident was registered before admission
Correct answer: Preserved under the resident rights regulations
Residents retain the right to vote and facilities must accommodate this right, including assisting with absentee ballot requests.
Question 7: Which of the following represents a violation of a resident's right to dignity under 42 CFR §483.10?
- Addressing a resident by their preferred nickname with their consent
- Staff referring to residents as 'feeders' or 'walkers' in clinical shorthand (Correct answer)
- Assigning consistent nursing assistants to promote familiarity
- Knocking before entering a resident's room
Correct answer: Staff referring to residents as 'feeders' or 'walkers' in clinical shorthand
Using dehumanizing labels like 'feeders' violates the resident's right to be treated with dignity and respect at all times.
SMQT Resident Rights and Dignity 2
Under 42 CFR §483.10, when must a nursing facility provide written information about resident rights?