The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has granted blanket waivers for New York and New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy, easing the regulations required of long-term care and other health providers. Read More »
How many of your residents have some sort of incontinence? More than you think. Improper assessment and MDS 3.0 coding of incontinence can result in inadequate treatment for residents, costly overuse of incontinence products and payment issues for caregivers. Read More »
An emergency response meeting held by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services answers some questions on coping with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in New York, but many issues remain for long-term and acute care facilities in other states. Read More »
Are transitions of care on your mind? You’re not alone. Read our on-site coverage of the National Transitions of Care Coalition (NTOCC) Midwest Regional Summit, held this month in Cleveland, for tips and free tools to improve your TOC efforts. Read More »
Updated: 5/21/13: Both parties have decided to cancel merger talks for now. The continuum of care gets bigger and broader in Michigan as two health systems join to form one of the largest non-profits in the state. Read More »
Technology projects planned with the input of all departments have the best staff buy-in and training engagement, says a panel of long-term care project managers who have tackled the IT challenges in their own organizations. Avoid “tech trauma” by learning their tips on IT project strategy. Read More »
Amid the cuts in payments and struggles with occupancy rates, the current long-term care business environment has opportunities for innovation in cost models, care delivery models and technology-driven value, notes the 28th annual Licensed Nursing Facility Cost Comparison. Read More »
Combine supercomputing with super intelligence and an accurate personal health diagnostic dashboard--for around $100--and you have "disruptive innovation." Read More »
A few raindrops didn't dampen the spirits of more than 2,000 attendees and 350+ vendors who celebrated the resilience and discussed the challenges of long-term care on today's opening day of the AHCA/NCAL Conference and Expo in Tampa, Fla. Read More »
A federal strike force from the Department of health & Human Services and the U.S. Atorney General’s office have charged almost 100 people with a total of $430 million in fraudulent Medicare billing practices. Read More »
October brings many key healthcare conferences and a renewed focus on the stages of implementing healthcare information technology in the long-term care setting. Is your facility ready to implement HIT systems for longitudinal care quality and transitions of care? Read More »
CMS’ new program to make hospitals financially accountable for excessive readmissions stumbles at the starting gate, as CMS issues a document to correct errors in the final rule. Read More »
A new guide, co-developed by the American Geriatrics Society and the American College of Surgeons, outlines the key assessment needs and risks of elderly surgery patients, including dementia, mobility and medication management. Read More »
Five of the leading U.S. healthcare organizations got a prickly letter from the Department of Justice and Health & Human Services Monday: Stop misusing documentation and electronic medical record technology systems for fraudulent billing purposes, or else. Read More »
The United States isn’t the only country experiencing explosive growth within the senior demographic. As the elderly population and the costs of senior care rise across the globe, other countries are weighing the U.S. long-term care experience. How will they handle the need for expanded senior services? Read More »
The United States isn’t the only country experiencing explosive growth within the senior demographic. As the elderly population and the costs of senior care rise across the globe, other countries are weighing the U.S. long-term care experience. Read More »
A bipartisan Congressional group introduces the Medicare Transitional Care Act of 2012, moving ahead to formalize reimbursement for care transitions. Read More »
The healthcare system has taken three large steps toward longitudinal care—and toward embracing long-term/post-acute care’s role in that picture. Progress on the Meaningful Use stages and templates for the new Continuity of Care Document were among the highlights. Read More »
In a milestone report released today, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) analyzes why the U.S. healthcare system needs a new business-based attitude, and why it struggles to learn from its own data. Read More »
The best way to reduce the cost of trips to the ER and doctor’s office is to stay home. One study finds that remote health monitoring technology is ripe for home care and non-hospital care locations like assisted living. Read More »
Residents who are recovering from surgery need special transitions of care and monitoring to prevent post-operative complications and hospital readmissions. Read More »
Don’t know what data analytics is yet? More hospitals are realizing the potential of data analytics to improve quality and business operations, and the transitions of care initiatives might bring LTC into the analytics mix sooner than you think. Read More »
The Center for Medicare & Medicaid's requested extension for the ICD-10 transition hasn’t been made official yet, but providers shouldn’t waste any time continuing their planning. Read More »
Pennsylvania's Keystone Beacon community helped develop a software program that can sort through MDS 3.0 and prepare resident care records for electronic submission Read More »
In this week's blog, John Derr, RPh, discusses the importance of harmony between clinical design and information technology. Successful implementation of transitions of care and longitudinal health records will require bringing both the clinical side and the technology side into the future together. Read More »
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is finally set to begin a three-year project to reduce fraud and errors by using RACs to check Medicare claims before they move to the payment stage. Read More »
The key to your future data-sharing compliance may already be within your own daily data. Mining that data can reveal a lot about the organization's strengths--and its weaknesses. Read More »
CMS offers $275 million to 25 more states the funding to design and build new payment models that bring multiple payers together and improve the care delivery system. Read More »
A team approach and solid planning upfront are crucial to a successful EHR implementation, according to new report from LeadingAge’s Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST). Read More »
