Skip to content
FonteumPublic-records evidence
Fonteum Data GlossaryRegulatory

What is informal dispute resolution?

Informal dispute resolution (IDR) is the process through which a nursing facility may dispute survey deficiency citations. CMS also provides an independent IDR process in defined civil-money-penalty circumstances. A citation can remain pending while the process is completed, so a record's current status and source date matter.

Source file
Not reported
Published
Not reported
Retrieved
Not reported
Snapshot
Not retained for this reference page
Data as of
Not reported

Full name: Informal Dispute Resolution (IDR)

Short explanation

Informal dispute resolution (IDR) is a CMS and state survey-agency process for reconsidering cited nursing-facility deficiencies. It is distinct from a court proceeding and does not erase the need to read the underlying survey record, scope-and-severity level, and any later disposition. Independent IDR is available in the circumstances specified by CMS when a civil money penalty is imposed. CMS describes how pending and resolved IDR outcomes are reflected in public nursing-home data.

Related data: Nursing-home deficiency data

Last updated: 2026-07-11Reviewed by: Dr. Jennifer Montecillo, MDGullas College of Medicine, 2019. Non-practicing medical reviewer.

How it’s used

  • CMS nursing-home technical details: the source explains that deficiencies can be disputed through IDR and that certain citations are not included in star-rating calculations until the process finishes.
  • Fonteum deficiency context: an enforcement or deficiency record is presented as a sourced public record, with any available status and timing limitations kept separate from an inference about a facility.

Frequently asked questions

What is IDR for a nursing home?
IDR is an informal process through which a nursing facility can dispute a survey deficiency citation with the responsible survey agency or CMS process.
What is independent IDR?
Independent IDR is a separate process available in defined civil-money-penalty circumstances under CMS rules. Its availability and procedure depend on the cited record and enforcement context.
Are IDR citations public?
CMS describes how deficiencies that are pending or resolved through IDR are reflected in its nursing-home public data. Check the source date and current record status before drawing conclusions.

Explore in Fonteum

How Fonteum sources, resolves, and publishes data tied to this term.

What’s on file, by the numbers

Platform snapshot · 2026-08-30

13.4Mproviders & companiesProviders, organizations, owners, and facilities on file
26.2Msource-linked factsSource-linked field facts in the dated platform snapshot
90sources with dataDistinct snapshot source IDs with at least one positive record count
16fresh sourcesDistinct source IDs whose latest positive-data snapshot falls within the preceding 45 days
111sources integratedActive registry rows; integration does not establish a load
13state Medicaid jurisdictionsDistinct states represented in the state-exclusions serving table

Integrated, with-data, and fresh-observation counts are separate. No platform-wide source-completeness count is published. Completeness is source-specific and must be evaluated against the named source's expected scope. State coverage is a separate jurisdiction measure.

Source authority is record-specific

Use the issuer named on the record.

Fonteum spans federal, state, and global public publishers. A source page or returned record identifies its issuer and dataset where that metadata is available. A platform registry count does not assign every page to one authority or establish loaded, fresh, or complete coverage.

Browse source records and their stated limitations →

Reproducible by design

Inspect the evidence each published figure actually supplies.

Source and date

Research pages expose the named public file and observation date where those fields are available. Source-file SHA-256 coverage is separate; facts do not currently link deterministically to signatures.

Available derivation

Studies with a retained release and committed derivation link the SQL or method used. Other studies state the evidence and reproduction limits they actually have.

Daily observations

Dated table row-count observations can detect local drift. They do not imply that an upstream publisher released or Fonteum ingested new data that day.

Named medical review

Reviewed by Jennifer Montecillo, MD, medical reviewer. Non-practicing medical reviewer.

Read the full provenance and attestation methodology →

Request access