In our most recent webinar, we took a deep dive into one of the most important — and often challenging — quality measures in post-acute care: the Discharge Function Score.
We started with a brief overview of the measure, focusing on its intent — to assess whether your Medicare Part A patients are making the progress CMS expects, based on their unique characteristics. By evaluating performance across 10 core areas in Section GG, CMS calculates an expected discharge score and compares it to your actual outcomes.
Why does this matter? This single measure directly impacts multiple critical areas:
- Your Five-Star Rating
- SNF QRP
- SNF Value-Based Purchasing (with FY2027 data collection starting October 1, 2025)
- Care Compare public reporting
- MDS validation audits, now underway
We explored both high-level strategies and practical action items you can implement right away. Topics included:
- Accurate and confident Section GG coding
- Supporting IDT in determining “usual performance” at admission and discharge
- Audit techniques to identify gaps
- Enhancing your rehab process and IDT programming
- The importance of regular, structured staff training
- Ensuring your MDS captures more than just GG to fully support performance
If your facility is struggling with this measure, or you’re simply looking to improve outcomes, this webinar offers the tools to take your performance to the next level.
