As promised Feb. 12, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services publicly announced changes to the five-star rating system used on its Nursing Home Compare website Feb. 20. Some organizations representing aging services providers are expressing concerns. Read More »
The Administration for Community Living of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has published the first federal regulations for the long-term care ombudsman programs in the Federal Register in an effort to improve consistency among state programs. Read More »
This month’s annual meeting of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology featured a keynote by HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell announcing the agency’s plan to increase the adoption of health IT. Read More »
Providers will be paid by the federal government based on care quality rather than care quantity under new, measurable goals announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Monday. Read More »
A new report by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission and the Urban Institute proposes changes to Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services payments to discourage skilled nursing facilities from “furnish[ing] therapy for financial gain.” Read More »
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn B. Tavenner will leave her position in February, according to media reports. Read More »
As the number of influenza cases increase across the country, using recommended hand hygiene protocols helps prevent the spread of flu viruses and other healthcare-associated infections. Read More »
Similar to the UPC bar code, Class III high-risk medical devices tagged with UDI labels will help to report, track and assess patients’ adverse events. Read More »
Long-term care facilities that do not recognize residents’ same-sex marriages would be ineligible to receive Medicare or Medicaid funding under a rule proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Read More »
The American Health Care Association has suggested to CMS several changes to an outcome and efficiency measure that would affect payments to skilled nursing facilities for the care of those who have undergone total hip or knee arthroplasty. Read More »
Sooner or later, most skilled nursing facilities encounter recovery audit contractors (RACs). A healthcare legal expert explains how to handle RAC visits and what to do when claims are denied. Read More »
Trash receptacles behind nursing homes and other care facilities are becoming a goldmine for drug addicts in search of controlled medications. Read More »
One of the first political “hot potatoes” the new Congress must address is amnesty for illegal immigrants, which would present long-term care organizations a broader pool of potential caregivers. Read More »
CMS has followed the lead of a preventive services agency and proposed coverage of annual lung cancer screenings for certain older adults. But can Medicare afford it? Read More »
Two years later, repercussions from Superstorm Sandy are still being felt by some assisted living residents in Rockaway, NY. Is the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s effort to recoup undeserved funds a management error or resident fraud? Read More »
When OSHA surveyors come knocking, neither the organization nor its employees can be bullied. Compliance expert Steve Wilder explains everyone's rights during an inspection. Read More »
A new study in JAMA examined whether a skilled nursing facility’s performance on quality measures is a reliable indicator of the likelihood that those it treats will or will not be rehospitalized or die within 30 days of being discharged from the hospital. Read More »
In “the largest failure-of-care settlement with a chain-wide skilled nursing facility" in U.S. Department of Justice history, Extendicare and a subsidiary will pay $38 million to resolve allegations of substandard care and inappropriate billing. Read More »
A federal rule that reclassifies hydrocodone combination products went into effect Monday, and at least one industry group is expressing concerns. Read More »
The increasing use of electrical equipment in areas where patients/residents receive treatment has increased the need for more electrical outlets to accommodate the appliances/devices. Read More »
To complete the readmission puzzle, post-acute care providers should look at three not-so-obvious missing puzzle pieces that go beyond the readmission metric. Read More »
A new report from the Institute of Medicine recommends several changes to the U.S. healthcare system to meet the needs of people nearing the end of life as well as the needs of their families. Read More »
Almost half of Medicare beneficiaries aged at least 65 years, among them nursing home residents, reported trouble or the need for assistance with activities of daily living in a recent study. Read More »
After months of a pause mode due to backlogs in the appeals process, CMS has reinstated the recovery audit contractor (RAC) review process. Read More »
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is delaying launch of its dialysis center ratings, but a kidney disease-related coalition says it still has concerns. Read More »
Long-term care facilities will be able to collect controlled substances turned in by residents, under a new Drug Enforcement Administration regulation meant to combat prescription drug abuse and misuse. Read More »
The final chapter in the series “12 Steps to QAPI” shows how preparation, organization, data and action can correct and improve processes to enhance the quality of care your residents receive. Read More »
