If you can distinguish a Louie Vitton bag from a Louis Vuitton clutch, then you may be among the few who are gifted in gauging what is fake versus what is real. But are you savvy enough to figure out the facts online?
Over the years, callers inquiring about MDS (Minimum Data Set) completion and MDS training have mentioned unusually similar, untrue MDS-related processes. Though the internet can provide some answers about what an MDS is about or what an MDS Nurse does, some sites are providing inaccurate information.
When a website touts itself as "a leading global, diversified media, information and services company", many readers will automatically believe every statement they print online. But what if multiple articles and information are actually false?
One of the articles from such a site shares a very UNTRUE statement about MDS completion: "If a nursing home is not certified by Medicare, residents are not required to undergo MDS assessments." That incorrect statement can cause a facility-wide deficiency in MDS completion which can lead to a Department of Health citation. (For the actual regulation, see MDS Manual Chapter 2: Page 2-1.)
Articles also wrongly imply that MDS assessments are done solely in nursing homes. The fact is, other types of facilities, not just nursing homes, also require the completion of MDS. (See MDS Manual Chapter 2: Pages 2-2 and 2-3.)
Another "career educational" website presents a FALSE requirement that an MDS Nurse "must complete MDS certification program." An MDS nurse does not have to complete an MDS certification program to start doing MDS assessments.
Some MDS forums can be a great social support groups for the hard-working, MDS-involved staff but may provide incorrect responses to MDS questions. This is where you may read five different ways to fix a scenario while the MDS manual offers only one legitimate way.
Do not be duped by sponsored content. (Those websites with too many ads.) Set yourself apart from those who easily accepts information without questioning the credibility of online articles, news outlets and the media. (Brings back the time when a live tv news coverage announced a car-train accident that left a little boy with “both legs and arms severed“ and then having to take care of that boy as a patient with, thankfully, just one leg severed.)
How can fake reporting be filtered out when even a supposedly trusted news outlet releases untrue facts? Nowadays, one cannot believe everything online, not even in the news. Unfortunately, even credit scores can be tainted with a stranger's record because of a similar name or “off-by-one” social security number. Do a very thorough research. Where is it mentioned in the regulation? There has to be actual proof, right?
Go to the root source. When it pertains to the MDS process, research the mecca of all MDS information- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the most updated manual released by the CMS. When it comes to LV purses, research where the source of real products is located near you- the actual Louis Vuitton store.
And THAT is the truth. Stay competent.
Image credit: geralt