AGING AND DISABILITY SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
2005 NH "Dear Administrator " Letters
March 18, 2005
ADSA: NH #2005-006
PASSWORD CHANGE FOR NURSING HOME FACILITY LOGIN
Dear Nursing Facility/Home Administrator:
This letter contains important information for nursing facility/home administrators and staff responsible to submit and protect Minimum Data Set (MDS) data.
MDS data submitted electronically needs to be considered as confidential as the onsite resident files. Just as you limit paper file access only to authorized employees, contractors, and vendors with a need to know, you must also limit access to electronic records.
To submit data, nursing home staff generally open the MDS vendor software of choice and sign on to the AT&T dialer program, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) entitled Medical Data Communications Network (MDCN). MDCN requires an ID (which starts with “h@”) but requires no password. At the MDS secure site, "Welcome to the CMS MDS System", staff enter the Facility Account ID (FAC-ID) and password. The FAC-ID and password is shared amongst authorized staff to submit MDS records, view Validation Reports and other reports in the ‘Validation’ Menu such as End of Month Roster Reports, MDS Activity Report, and several error reports.
To help protect your data, please implement the following immediately:
- Limit the use of the FAC-ID password to as few staff as possible.
- Submit written requests for a password reset or for a forgotten password. Use the enclosed form and FAX the completed request to (360) 725-2645. Upon receipt, an ADSA representative will call the nursing home telephone number of record to verify the request and relay the password verbally. Depending on how your MDS software works, you may need to notify your MDS software vendor after a password reset.
- Request a password change when: 1) A password is forgotten/lost; 2) There is a change in MDS submission staff person(s) performing MDS submission; 3) Another staff person or contractor with access to the password no longer needs access and/or is no longer associated with this facility; 4) New nursing home name or new ownership takes effect; 5) New MDS software vendor is employed; 6) Periodic password change is needed when local nursing home policy indicates that a password reset is due; or 7) A security breech may have occurred.
Additionally, you, as a nursing home administrator, may want to ask a technical staff person/consultant to review computer security procedures and practices to assure that industry standards are met and that you are satisfied with the security in your facility.
If you have any questions, please contact: Shirley Stirling MDS Automation Coordinator, at (360) 725-2620 or stirlsa@dshs.wa.gov.
Sincerely,
Joyce Pashley Stockwell, Acting Director
Residential Care Services
