Are You Ready for the Discharge Function Score Changes?

September 4, 2024-- The Discharge Function Score is a quality measure for CMS’s clinical initiative program that is used to assess the functional status of patients at discharge. The Discharge Function Score (DC Function) will replace the Percentage of Residents Who Made Improvements in Function (Short Stay) measure in the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) in October 2024. DC Function will also be utilized for Five Star and Value-Based Purchasing (VBP). This quality measure aligns more closely with the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) Patient Assessment Instrument, ensuring consistency in how patient functional status is measured across different post-acute care settings.

The Quality Measure: Discharge Function Score:

• Will be used to determine how successful each SNF is at achieving an expected level of functional ability for its residents during their Medicare Part A stay based on improvement in specific MDS Section GG items.
• Will impact VBP (starting performance for FY 2025), QRP and Five Star.
• The 3 scores used will include Admission and observed Discharge Function Scores and an additional Expected Discharge Function Score which will be calculated utilizing a risk adjustment model that considers key resident clinical characteristics.
• Does not solely reflect an improvement of residents at discharge, but estimates the percentage of residents who meet, as well as exceed an expected discharge function score. 

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At Powerback, we recognize the importance of being active and accurate contributors to this data. Our clinical teams are hard at work educating our therapists about the importance of Discharge Function Scores and their implications for our Skilled Nursing partners.  

Want to learn more about Discharge Function Score changes? Check out our upcoming webinar, CMS Clinical Discharge Series, Discharge Function Score, presented live on Thursday, 9/19 at 1:00 PM ET. To register, click here.