What is the MDS? PDPM? & Section K?

Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) is the name for the current reimbursement system for SNFs. The payment amount that a facility receives for a specific patient is dependent on their clinical diagnoses and care needs. This system uses information from the Minimum Data Set (MDS).

The MDS is an evaluation that must be completed for all residents. This information is used to classify patients by needs such as nursing, PT, ST, etc. to determine how much the facility is paid per day.

Section K is a specific part of the MDS where an SLP, dietician, and/or the MDS nurse answers questions related to the patient’s nutrition and swallow function.

Section K0100 specifically pertains to swallowing disorders. These questions are designed to capture if the patient has dysphagia and influences the amount of money the facility is reimbursed for that specific patient.

It depends on your specific building who fills out Section K directly. Many companies have the Section K questions built into an SLP’s evaluation so the MDS nurse can just open the SLP eval and copy over the answers. The dietician or MDS nurse may ask you these questions about a specific patient to help ensure their documentation is accurate.