Inaccurate MDS Coding of Carbidopa-Levodopa as an Anticonvulsant
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves inaccurate assessment and documentation of medications on the MDS for two residents with Parkinson’s disease. One resident was admitted with Parkinson’s disease and had an MD order for carbidopa-levodopa to be given three times daily. Despite this, the resident’s annual and significant change MDS assessments documented that the resident was taking an anticonvulsant, while review of the medication orders showed no anticonvulsant medications were ordered at those times. The facility inaccurately coded carbidopa-levodopa as an anticonvulsant on both MDS assessments. A second resident, also admitted with Parkinson’s disease and ordered carbidopa-levodopa four times daily, had a quarterly MDS assessment that documented use of an anticonvulsant, even though review of the medication orders showed no anticonvulsant medications were ordered. During an interview, the RNAC stated that they had been coding Sinemet (carbidopa-levodopa) as an anticonvulsant for years, since CMS started tracking anticonvulsant medications, and that this was how they had been taught to code it. This practice resulted in inaccurate MDS documentation for the resident’s medication regimen.
We Help Long-Term Care Teams Stay Survey-Ready
We process and analyze inspection reports and plan of correction using AI to extract insights and trends so providers can improve care quality and stay ahead of compliance risks.