What nursing homes actually get cited for, and which citations cause harm
Every standard survey produces a list of deficiency citations (F-tags), each graded for scope and severity. We read the full national file so you don't have to.
The number most people miss
Frequency and harm are two different rankings.
The single most-cited tag (8,667). Almost never reaches resident harm.
Cited less often than infection control, but more than a third involve harm.
The most harm-concentrated tag in the entire file. It is a bedside skill.
Frequency, harm, and teachability are three different rankings. Harm concentrates in the frontline-nurse tags, the ones a bedside clinician can actually be trained to prevent.
Frequency vs. harm
Each dot is a frontline-nurse deficiency. The higher it sits, the more often that citation involves actual resident harm (CMS scope/severity G or higher).
The danger zone is the top of the chart: high harm rate. CPR (F0678) sits highest of all. Falls and abuse/neglect combine high volume with high harm. Infection control sits bottom-right: common, rarely harmful. Every dot here is a frontline-nurse skill.
The same file, three ways
Three rankings, three different stories
Most cited nationally
Raw citation volume. What surveyors write up most often.
| Deficiency | Citations | Harm rate | Owned by |
|---|---|---|---|
F0880Infection Prevention & Control | 8,667 | 1.1% | Frontline-nurse |
F0689Falls / Accident Hazards | 7,783 | 36.6% | Frontline-nurse |
F0812Food Procurement / Sanitation | 6,189 | 0.3% | Support services |
F0684Quality of Care (catchall) | 6,033 | 13.2% | Frontline-nurse |
F0656Care Plan at Bedside | 4,800 | 3.7% | Frontline-nurse |
F0761Label / Store Drugs | 4,515 | 0.1% | Support services |
F0600Abuse / Neglect | 3,618 | 37.8% | Frontline-nurse |
F0609Timely Reporting of Abuse | 3,451 | 2.6% | Frontline-nurse |
F0755Pharmacy Services | 3,291 | 1.7% | Support services |
F0842Medical Records | 3,208 | 0.1% | Support services |
F0677ADL Care | 3,134 | 0.6% | Frontline-nurse |
F0695Respiratory / Trach / Suction | 3,017 | 2.1% | Frontline-nurse |
The most-cited tags include dietary, pharmacy, and records deficiencies owned by support services, not the floor nurse. Volume alone is a poor guide to what bedside training can fix.
Most harmful
Citations at actual-harm severity (G+). What actually hurts residents.
| Deficiency | Harm-level cites | Harm rate | Owned by |
|---|---|---|---|
F0689Falls / Accident Hazards | 2,845 | 36.6% | Frontline-nurse |
F0600Abuse / Neglect | 1,369 | 37.8% | Frontline-nurse |
F0684Quality of Care (catchall) | 796 | 13.2% | Frontline-nurse |
F0686Pressure Injury Prevention | 616 | 22.4% | Frontline-nurse |
F0760Significant Medication Errors | 320 | 17.4% | Frontline-nurse |
F0697Pain Management | 212 | 19.6% | Frontline-nurse |
F0656Care Plan at Bedside | 176 | 3.7% | Frontline-nurse |
F0692Nutrition / Hydration | 169 | 11% | Frontline-nurse |
F0580Notify Change in Condition (SBAR) | 140 | 6.6% | Frontline-nurse |
F0678Basic Life Support / CPR | 138 | 52.3% | Frontline-nurse |
F0610Respond to Alleged Violations | 106 | 5% | Support services |
F0835Facility Administration | 97 | 22.8% | Support services |
A completely different order from frequency. Ten of the twelve most-harmful deficiencies sit with the frontline nurse, including CPR, the single most harm-concentrated tag in the file.
Frontline-nurse deficiencies
The citations a bedside nurse can prevent, ranked by frequency.
| Deficiency | Citations | Harm rate | Owned by |
|---|---|---|---|
F0880Infection Prevention & Control | 8,667 | 1.1% | Frontline-nurse |
F0689Falls / Accident Hazards | 7,783 | 36.6% | Frontline-nurse |
F0684Quality of Care (catchall) | 6,033 | 13.2% | Frontline-nurse |
F0656Care Plan at Bedside | 4,800 | 3.7% | Frontline-nurse |
F0600Abuse / Neglect | 3,618 | 37.8% | Frontline-nurse |
F0609Timely Reporting of Abuse | 3,451 | 2.6% | Frontline-nurse |
F0677ADL Care | 3,134 | 0.6% | Frontline-nurse |
F0695Respiratory / Trach / Suction | 3,017 | 2.1% | Frontline-nurse |
F0686Pressure Injury Prevention | 2,744 | 22.4% | Frontline-nurse |
F0657Care Plan Revision | 2,581 | 0.5% | Frontline-nurse |
F0641MDS Assessment Accuracy | 2,551 | 0.1% | Frontline-nurse |
F0580Notify Change in Condition (SBAR) | 2,109 | 6.6% | Frontline-nurse |
This is the cut bedside clinical training can actually move, prioritized by harm, not by raw frequency.
This is the national picture
Now see your facility's.
Karibu builds 5-minute, frontline-nurse microlearning against this list, prioritized by harm, not frequency. Every facility's survey history is different. We'll read your CMS record and send back your gap profile: the specific deficiencies your nurses can be trained to close, ranked by harm.
Free. No login. We read the public CMS record and send your profile back.
About this data
Source: CMS Health Deficiencies (Provider-level, May 2026 release). Counts reflect surveys since Dec 2024, including standard and complaint surveys. "Harm" means a CMS scope/severity grade of G or higher; grades run A (least) to L (immediate jeopardy, widespread). Updated monthly as CMS releases new survey data.
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Last updated: May 31, 2026.