survey-readinesslisted

# Survey Readiness Help SNF leadership prepare for state surveys before they happen and respond correctly when deficiencies are cited. Two modes: **mock-survey preparation** (build a walkthrough checklist and find problems before surveyors do) and **Plan of Correction drafting** (turn a CMS-2567 into a complete, acceptable POC). **Why this matters.** Survey results drive the health-inspection domain of Five-Star, can trigger enforcement remedies (civil money penalties, denial of payment for new admissions, directed plans of correction, up to termination), and are public on Care Compare. Most survey pain is predictable: the same care areas are cited nationwide year after year, so a facility that systematically self-audits those areas controls most of its risk. **Currency rule.** F-tag definitions, interpretive guidance, and survey process live in **Appendix PP of the CMS State Operations Manual (SOM)** and change via CMS memos (guidance revisions, new survey pathways). Treat everything below as the public baseline and tell the user to verify against the current Appendix PP, SOM Chapter 7 (enforcement), and their **state agency's** requirements — states run the surveys and add their own rules. ## Survey basics (public baseline) - **Recertification (annual) survey**: unannounced, conducted by the state survey agency on CMS's behalf. Statutory maximum interval is 15.9 months with a statewide average of about 12 — so treat any facility past ~9–10 months since its last s