The Importance of Documentation and of Following Regulations for Facility-Initiated Discharges

​An article published in the July 2018 issue of Caring for the Ages explores a case of a resident's right to appeal a facility-initiated discharge. The case demonstrates a facility's responsibility to strictly follow regulations and to document best practices in order to avoid risks of civil money penalties or other financial or fiduciary consequences. The article's author describes a case in which a woman was admitted to an acute care facility after collapsing in her home, where she was found soiled with melenic stool and with blood dried around her mouth. Her daughter (the caregiver) was unavailable and the woman was subsequently transferred to a skilled nursing facility for treatment of multiple afflictions. Medicare confirmed it would cover the cost of her care up to 100 days, but when discharge planning discussions began, the daughter/caregiver was uncooperative in arranging payment schedules for the more than $10,000 in share-of-cost fees her mother had accrued.