MDS gives snapshot of residents
Tuesday February 12, 2008 -- Camille Jensen
Kathy Shewell of Springdale Country Manor sees great potential in a new resident assessment tool.

The only OMNI home participating in a government pilot project, the Peterborough long-term care home says the new system is challenging to learn but offers great benefits.

Called the Resident Assessment Instrument Minimum Data Set (RAI MDS 2.0), the new tool incorporates 450 different factors when assessing a resident. 

Combining multiple aspects of resident life such as mood, behaviour, cognitive abilities, exercise and medication, the information is then compiled into one report.

The report is then used to plan for future care for the residents. Identifiers and triggers help pinpoint areas of risk or conversely display new positive developments.

Seen as a more preventative assessment tool, RAI MDS lets health-care workers compare residents past history with more recent developments.

“The report looks at the last seven days, the last 14 days and the last 90,” explains Shewell. “It’s a great snapshot of the resident.”

Entering the project in Phase 4, Shewell, RAI co-ordinator at Springdale, says the new system poses challenges when it comes to training staff because the system is more complex than the previous model. 

The tool also takes more time to complete than previous assessment tools.

Shewell says the greatest benefit of the new tool is its ability to provide accurate quarterly reports, which could change the way long-term care homes are funded.

Ontario long-term care homes receive funding through an annual report known as the Case Mix Index (CMI).

The new funding system could provide quarterly reports and a quarterly based funding system which Shewell says would be more reflective of the different types of care homes provide throughout the year.

Shewell says funding based on the RAI MDS tool would be more comprehensive because it shows data on all types of activities and care the home offers.

She says the new system also realizes that residents who receive lighter care often take longer and the tool could properly assess more realistic time issues when directing funding.

Currently, projections on how the funding would change has not been stated but research involving other RAI MDS funding models is underway.

The pilot project is planned to finish in 2009.