What does the Minimum Data Set (MDS) specify?

The Minimum Data Set (MDS) is a standardized assessment tool used primarily in long-term care settings to ensure comprehensive data collection on residents. It specifies the information that must be gathered from every patient in these facilities, covering various aspects of a patient’s health status, functional abilities, and needs. The purpose of the MDS is to create a uniform benchmark that can be used across different healthcare settings to assess care quality, improve patient outcomes, and meet regulatory requirements.

Collecting data through the MDS allows healthcare providers to develop individualized care plans and monitor changes over time, ensuring that the needs of each patient are met effectively. This focus on systematic data collection underscores why this choice is the correct answer. The other options relate to different aspects of healthcare but do not capture the primary purpose of the MDS. For instance, while criteria for admission, guidelines for therapeutic interventions, and measurement tools for patient satisfaction are all important elements of healthcare management, they do not align with the specific function of the MDS, which is focused on data gathering.