Privacy

DUA - Long Term Care (LTC) MDS

Effective June 1, 2012, all DUA request submissions must follow the e-mail Subject line instructions located on the DUA-Forms page (use the link in the left hand menu).

The Long Term Care (LTC) Minimum Data Set (MDS) is the core set of screening and assessment elements of the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI). This assessment system provides a comprehensive, accurate, standardized, reproducible assessment of each long term care facility's resident functional capabilities and helps staff to identify health problems.  This assessment is performed on all residents in a Medicare and/or Medicaid-certified LTC facility.

Additional Requirements for Assessment Data Sets, including the Nursing Home Minimum Data Set (MDS) Requests

Due to the sensitive nature of Assessment Data Sets and the increased risk to beneficiary privacy, the following additional review criteria will be applied to data requests for Assessment Data Sets including the Nursing Home MDS data:

  1. The researcher must adequately demonstrate in the research protocol that the study could not be conducted without access to and use of the Assessment Data Sets. The case must be made that no other data set(s) can substitute for, or achieve the same results as the specific Assessment Data Sets.
  2. The research design needs to be focused, ensuring the researcher requests the minimum data necessary to conduct the study. The researcher must include a copy of the specific Assessment Data Sets; e.g., the Nursing Home MDS Resident Assessment Instrument) and identify the data elements that are necessary to carry out the study. For example, a study that proposes to analyze the number of falls occurring in a nursing home should only requests those data elements relating to falls, their occurrence, prevention or description of related characteristics.
  3. The proposed hypotheses, and subsequent analyses, must consider the potential limitations of the Assessment Data Set. The researcher must clearly demonstrate that they are proposing an appropriate application of the data. This is particularly important for proposals of innovative applications.
  4. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is committed to reviewing all study results utilizing the Assessment Data Sets and requires the researcher to submit a one-page report summary of the research findings. This summary report is in addition to any manuscripts or statistics submitted to CMS for review.

For assistance or to submit your request, contact the Research Data Assistance Center (ResDAC) via:

For States and U.S. Territories only

States and U.S. Territories may obtain CMS data by completing the following documentation:

States and U.S. Territories may receive assistance and submit their request to the CMS Regional Office representative serving your area.