Medication
This over-the-counter medication is commonly used for pain and fever but can cause liver toxicity in high doses.
What is acetaminophen (Tylenol)?
This is a surveyor's guidance to this process.
What is the Long Term Care Procedure Guide (LTSCP)?
Failure to report allegations of abuse in a timely manner would be cited under this tag.
What is F609 – Reporting of Alleged Violations?
During the Kitchen facility task, this temp is specific to high temp dishwashers during the rinse cycle.
What is 180 degrees Fahrenheit?
A surveyor cites a deficiency affecting multiple residents with actual harm that is not immediate jeopardy; this level would be categorized using this CMS system to determine the seriousness of the violation.
What is the Scope and Severity Grid?
Drugs like metoprolol and atenolol belong to this class, which lowers heart rate and blood pressure.
What are beta blockers?
This process involves unannounced inspections of long-term care facilities to ensure compliance with federal regulations.
What is the survey process?
This tag is cited when a facility fails to notify physicians or family of significant changes in a resident’s condition.
What is F580 – Notify of Changes (Physician/Family/Representative)?
A surveyor observes that milk and meat products are stored above safe temperatures in the kitchen, creating a risk for resident illness. What facility task is used to investigate this concern?
What is the Kitchen?
This scope and severity level represents isolated incidents with potential for more than minimal harm but no actual harm occurred.
What is Level D?
This serious side effect of opioids involves slowed or stopped breathing.
What is respiratory depression?
According to the LTCSP Procedure Guide, this process should start immediately upon entrance to the facility.
What is the screening process?
Residents who smoke in long-term care facilities require designated areas, safety monitoring, and assessment of a resident’s ability to participate safely due to risks such as burns, fire, and oxygen use. Deficient practice found in this area would be cited under this.
What is F689 – Free of Accident Hazards/Supervision/Devices?
This facility task is related to where residents gather to eat meals, and staff must ensure proper supervision, positioning, and assistance to prevent choking, maintain dignity, and support resident choice during meal service.
What is the dining room facility task?
This scope and severity level represents isolated deficiencies that have caused no actual harm but pose immediate jeopardy.
What is Level K (Immediate Jeopardy – isolated)?
A nursing home resident repeatedly protrudes their tongue in an involuntary, rhythmic motion after long-term use of antipsychotic medications; this condition is a classic example of this extrapyramidal side effect.
What is tardive dyskinesia?
This group of residents is selected early in the survey process based on concern findings during screening along with completing the Observations, Interviews, and LIMITED Record Reviews after being chosen for this.
What is the initial pool?
Significant weight loss or failure to maintain adequate nutrition may result in citation under this tag.
What is F692 – Nutrition/Hydration Status Maintenance?
This facility task includes but is not limited to the "Water Management Program"?
What is Infection Control?
This is the highest scope and severity level, representing widespread immediate jeopardy to resident health or safety.
What is Level L?
This atypical antipsychotic, also known as quetiapine, is commonly used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and has a lower risk of extrapyramidal (EPS - drug-induced movement disorders) symptoms compared to older antipsychotics.
What is Seroquel?
Surveyors review this federally mandated assessment tool used to evaluate residents’ functional capabilities.
What is the Minimum Data Set (MDS)?
During a medication pass observation, surveyors calculate this percentage, which must remain below 5% to avoid citation under F-Tag 759.
What is the medication error rate?
A facility tracks repeated medication errors, analyzes the root cause, and implements staff re-education to prevent recurrence. This structured improvement process is part of this required CMS program.
What is QAPI – Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement?
A deficiency is found affecting multiple residents with actual harm and the facility is not in immediate jeopardy. This would be categorized as this scope and severity level.
What is Level G?
This is the maximum number of days a PRN (as needed) antipsychotic order can be written without additional provider evaluation.
What is 14 days?
This is the most serious type of deficiency, involving a situation that has caused or is likely to cause serious harm, injury, or death.
What is Immediate Jeopardy?
This tag became especially prominent during COVID-19 and focuses on preventing and controlling infections.
What is F880 – Infection Prevention and Control?
These are the 9 mandatory facility tasks to be completed with every recertification survey.
What is Dining, Kitchen, Sufficient and Competent Staffing, Infection Control, QAPI, ABN, Medication Administration, Medication Storage, and Resident Council?
F-Tags in red (on the "List of Revised F-Tags) that a deficiency reaches the scope and severity level of F, H, I, J, K, or L, indicate this (answer 1) and this (answer 2) must be triggered.
What is 1. Substandard Quality of Care, and 2. Extended Survey?