F278: Ensure each resident receives an accurate assessment by a qualified health professional
F278 is one of the federal requirements every Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing home must meet. CMS describes it as: Ensure each resident receives an accurate assessment by a qualified health professional.
It sits in CMS's resident assessment and care planning category.
CMS Health Deficiencies file, data as of September 1, 2026. The files hold each home's last three standard inspections and three years of complaint visits.
How seriously inspectors rate it
Every citation gets a letter for how much harm inspectors found and how many residents it touched (how to read the letters). 0.0% of F278 citations came from a complaint visit rather than a routine inspection.
By letter: D 3, E 1.
What inspectors wrote
Three recent F278 citations from different states, quoted from the inspectors' statements of deficiencies (CMS form 2567). Names are removed by CMS.
Inspectors wrote, September 21, 2017, scope and severity DBased on staff interviews, medical record review, and review of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Long-Term Care Facility Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) 3.0 User's Manual Version 1.13 October 2015, the facility failed to ensure Resident Identifier (RI) #9's Quarterly Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessments dated 05/02/2017 and 07/25/2017 were accurately coded for Oxygen (O2) use. This deficient practice affected RI #9, one of 20 sampled residents whose MDS assessments were reviewed. Findings Include: A review of CMS's RAI 3.0 Manual revealed: .Special Treatments, Procedures, and Programs . Planning for Care . Reevaluation of special treatments . [...]
Albertville Nursing Home, Albertville, AL
Inspectors wrote, September 8, 2017, scope and severity DBased on observation, staff interviews, clinical record review, and review of the facility's policy the facility staff failed to accurately code the Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessment for one of 26 residents (Resident #17), in the survey sample. The facility staff failed to code Resident #17's MDS assessment correctly at section A1500 through A1550.
Chesapeake Health and Rehabilitation Center, Chesapeake, VA
Most recent F278 citations
| Inspection | Home | Town | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 21, 2017 | Albertville Nursing Home | Albertville, AL | D |
| September 8, 2017 | Chesapeake Health and Rehabilitation Center | Chesapeake, VA | D |
| August 10, 2017 | Nans Pointe Rehabilitation and Nursing | Suffolk, VA | E |
| July 13, 2017 | Portsmouth Health and Rehab | Portsmouth, VA | D |
Common questions
- What is F278 in a nursing home inspection?
- F278 is the federal requirement to "ensure each resident receives an accurate assessment by a qualified health professional". CMS files it under resident assessment and care planning. A home cited under F278 did not meet that requirement at the inspection.
- How often is F278 cited?
- The CMS files as of September 1, 2026 list 4 F278 citations at 4 nursing homes, 0 of them in the 12 months to that date. 0.0% were rated as actual harm or immediate jeopardy.
- Is a F278 citation serious?
- It depends on the letter. Most F278 citations (100.0%) were rated as potential for more than minimal harm, D to F. None in the current files is at the immediate jeopardy level.
The interpretive guidance inspectors use for each F-tag is CMS's State Operations Manual, Appendix PP. NursingHomeClear reports the citations as CMS records them and is not affiliated with CMS. All F-tags · Methodology