Resident admission, assessment, care plan, and discharge.
38 C.F.R. § 51.310
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01The State home must conduct accurate, written, medical and comprehensive assessments of each resident's medical and functional capacity upon admission, annually, and as required by a change in the resident's condition. The comprehensive assessment will use information from the medical assessment, and both assessments will inform the comprehensive care plan. The State home must have a written policy to determine how to coordinate and complete the comprehensive assessment process, including how it will review, and revise the comprehensive assessment in implementing the comprehensive care plan. The State home must review comprehensive assessments annually, and promptly after every significant change in the resident's physical, mental, or social condition.
(a) Admission orders and medical assessment. At the time each resident is admitted, the State home must have physician orders for the resident's immediate care. A medical assessment, including a medical history and physical examination, must be performed by a physician, or other health care provider qualified under State law, and recorded in the medical record no later than 7 calendar days after admission, unless one was performed no earlier than 5 calendar days before admission and the findings were recorded in the medical record. The medical assessment will be part of the comprehensive assessment.
(b) Comprehensive assessments. (1) The state home must complete a comprehensive assessment of each resident no later than 14 calendar days after admission, annually, and as required by a change in the resident's condition.
(2) Each comprehensive assessment must be conducted or coordinated by a registered nurse with the participation of appropriate healthcare professionals, including at least one physician, the registered nurse, and one social worker. The registered nurse must sign and certify the assessment. The comprehensive assessment is to determine the care, treatment, and services that will meet the resident's initial and continuing needs. It is an objective evaluation of a resident's health and functional status, describing the resident's capabilities and impairments in performing activities of daily living, strengths, and needs. The assessment gathers information through collection of data, observation, and examination.
(c) Comprehensive care plans. (1) The State home must develop a comprehensive care plan for each resident based on the comprehensive assessment, and develop, review, and revise the comprehensive care plan following each comprehensive assessment. The comprehensive care plan must include measurable objectives and timetables to address a resident's emotional, behavioral, social, and physical needs, with emphasis on assisting each patient to achieve and maintain an optimal level of self-care and independence. The comprehensive care plan must describe the following, as appropriate to the resident's circumstances:
(i) The services that are to be furnished to support the resident's highest practicable emotional, behavioral, social rehabilitation, and physical well-being;
(ii) The specific work the resident agrees to do to share in the maintenance and operation of the State home upon consultation with the interdisciplinary team, and whether that work is paid or unpaid; and
(iii) Any services that would otherwise be required under § 51.350 but are not provided due to the resident's exercise of rights under § 51.70, including the right in § 51.70(b)(4) to refuse treatment.
(2) A comprehensive care plan must be:
(i) Developed no later than 21 calendar days after admission; and
(ii) Prepared by an interdisciplinary team of health professionals that may include the primary care physician or a Licensed Independent Practitioner (or designated Physician's Assistant or Nurse Practitioner), a social worker, and a registered nurse who have responsibility for the resident, and other staff in appropriate disciplines as determined by the resident's needs, and, to the extent practicable, the participation of the resident and the resident's family (subject to the consent of the resident) or the resident's legal representative, if appropriate;
(iii) Reviewed periodically and revised consistent with the most recent comprehensive assessment by a team of qualified persons no less often than semi-annually; and
(iv) Revised promptly after a comprehensive assessment reveals a significant change in the resident's condition.
(3) The services provided by the facility must
(i) Meet professional standards of quality; and
(ii) Be provided by qualified persons in accordance with each resident's written comprehensive care plan.
(d) Discharge summary. (1) Prior to discharging a resident, the State home must prepare a discharge summary that includes
(i) A summary of the resident's stay, the resident's status at the time of the discharge, and the resident's progress on the comprehensive care plan in paragraph (b)(2) of this section; and
(ii) A post-discharge comprehensive care plan that is developed with the participation of the resident.
(2) A resident has the right to decide if he or she would like to involve his or her legal representative or interested family member in development of a post-discharge plan.
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-38.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026