# MDS scheduling software for skilled nursing facilities that shows the window before it closes

> The MDS is the standardised Minimum Data Set assessment that every Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing facility must complete for each resident. It drives the care plan, the quality measures published on Care Compare, and the case mix classification behind Medicare payment. Windows are tight: quarterly assessments run on a 92 day clock, annual assessments on a 366 day clock, OBRA admission assessments are due by day 14, and a missed window drops the rate. Neurobird makes the schedule visible and assigns each section to the discipline that owns it.

- URL: https://neurobird.com/snfmds/
- Product: Neurobird Skilled Nursing Facility MDS Compliance Platform
- Niche: skilled nursing facility MDS
- Buyer: skilled nursing facilities and MDS coordinators
- Status: in development, open for early access
- Updated: 2026-08-21

## What Neurobird Skilled Nursing Facility MDS does

- See every open assessment window and its target date without rebuilding the calendar
- Assign sections to the disciplines that own them and track completion
- Catch a significant change in status while there is still time to assess it
- Confirm transmission rather than assume it

## How it works

1. **See every window** Admission, quarterly, annual, significant change and the Part A schedule all appear on one calendar with target dates and late thresholds.
2. **Assign the sections** Therapy, nursing, dietary and social services each own their sections. Completion is tracked per discipline, so nothing is discovered at lock.
3. **Confirm the transmission** Signed, locked and transmitted are separate states. The schedule closes only when the assessment is actually accepted.

## From the source material

> More than one-third of dually eligible beneficiaries in a long-term care or skilled nursing facility setting were hospitalized from these settings at least once, totaling almost 1 million hospitalizations.

Source: cms.gov, https://www.cms.gov/research-statistics-data-and-systems/statistics-trends-and-reports/reports/downloads/costdriverstask2.pdf

## Industry context

- **483** Requirements for long term care facilities, including the resident assessment obligation, sit at 42 CFR Part 483, and section 483.20 is the assessment rule itself. (source: eCFR, 42 CFR Part 483, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/chapter-IV/subchapter-G/part-483)
- **RAI manual** CMS publishes the Resident Assessment Instrument manual that defines every item, coding convention and assessment window the MDS runs on. (source: CMS, RAI manual, https://www.cms.gov/medicare/quality/nursing-home-improvement/resident-assessment-instrument-manual)
- **Case mix** Medicare pays skilled nursing under a prospective payment system where the assessment determines the classification, so an assessment error is a payment error. (source: CMS, SNF prospective payment, https://www.cms.gov/medicare/payment/prospective-payment-systems/skilled-nursing-facility-snf)
- **5 star** Assessment data feeds publicly reported quality measures on Medicare Care Compare, which families and referral sources read before they call you. (source: Medicare Care Compare, https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/)
- **Open data** CMS publishes provider level nursing home data, including the quality measures derived from assessment submissions, as a public dataset. (source: CMS provider data, nursing homes, https://data.cms.gov/provider-data/topics/nursing-homes)

## Pricing

- Single facility: $3 per bed, per month
- Group: $6 per bed, per month
- Regional: $11 per bed, per month

## Questions

### What is the MDS in a skilled nursing facility?

The MDS, or Minimum Data Set, is the standardised resident assessment every Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing home must complete. It drives the care plan, the quality measures published on Care Compare, and the case mix classification that sets Medicare payment. The rules live in the CMS RAI manual and at 42 CFR Part 483.

### What assessments are on the schedule?

OBRA assessments on admission, quarterly at least every 92 days, annually within 366 days, and whenever there is a significant change in status, plus the Medicare Part A schedule including the 5 day assessment. Each has its own window and its own late consequence.

### What happens if an assessment is late?

Payment falls to a default rate for the days that are not covered by a timely assessment, and the facility carries a survey exposure on top of it. The loss is usually discovered on the remittance rather than on the calendar.

### Why does section GG get so much attention?

Because functional status feeds both payment classification and publicly reported quality measures. It has to be scored from actual observed performance during a defined window, by the disciplines who saw the resident, not filled in at the end by one person.

### Does this replace our EHR?

No. Your EHR holds the clinical record and transmits the assessment. This holds the schedule, the ownership and the completion state, which is the part that usually lives in a spreadsheet.

## Sources

- [42 CFR Part 483, long term care facilities](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/chapter-IV/subchapter-G/part-483)
- [CMS Resident Assessment Instrument manual](https://www.cms.gov/medicare/quality/nursing-home-improvement/resident-assessment-instrument-manual)
- [CMS, SNF prospective payment system](https://www.cms.gov/medicare/payment/prospective-payment-systems/skilled-nursing-facility-snf)
- [CMS provider data, nursing homes](https://data.cms.gov/provider-data/topics/nursing-homes)

## Contact

- office@neurobird.com
- https://neurobird.com/