Medicare Advantage seniors living in the southeastern states have a much higher chance of being prescribed “risky” medications, reveals a new study from researchers at Brown University. Read More »
Senior Editor Pamela Tabar talks with Ruta Kadonoff, vice president of quality and regulatory affairs for the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), about quality in long-term care—and why being able to measure it will be important for business. Read More »
Florida’s Universal Health Care Insurance suddenly closed its doors last week, giving beneficiaries three days to choose another insurance provider. Read More »
The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services has released a new analytics tool to help providers understand multiple chronic conditions in seniors. Read More »
Patients receiving antihistamines to suppress stomach acid are at greater risk of infection from Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, a common cause of diarrhea, Mayo Clinic researchers have found. Read More »
The days of antibiotics being a "silver bullet" are long over, especially in nursing homes. And when it comes to antibiotic medication, more isn't necessarily better. The challenge of treating bacterial infections without inadvertently creating new resistant bacterial strains has LTC facilities stuck between a rock and a hard place. Read More »
Cardiology researchers discover that the latest help in reducing readmissions of those with chronic heart failure may come from a drug considered as "old hat" 10 years ago. Read More »
Long-term care providers and behavioral health services should go hand in hand in aging care, experts say. If your facility can’t provide or fund mental health services, partner for them—and everyone wins. Read More »
Antipsychotic administration in the elderly is associated with an increased risk for cerebrovascular accident, more commonly known as stroke, according to findings from a new study. Read More »
It’s said that no one can turn back (or ahead) the hands of time. But, au contraire, every year on the second Monday of March, people get up, get to work bleary-eyed and try to adjust to the TIME CHANGE!!! Read More »
Trepidation about tripping? Most seniors who have taken a tumble once, will develop a fear of falling again. Helping seniors to overcome the fear of falling starts with a deep understanding of what scares them--and then empowering them to change it. Read More »
Some of the newer medications for diabetes put the resident at increased risk for acute or chronic pancreatitis, notes a recent JAMA study. Read More »
Changing medications can be difficult as Long-Term Living blogger Kathleen Mears shares her experiences in switching antidepressant medications. Read More »
A new report from the Office of Inspector General accuses skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) of misusing their Medicare payments, since more than one-third of SNFs don’t fulfill—or even create—the care plans and discharge goals required for their residents. Read More »
Long-term care pharmacies incur dispensing costs that are 25 percent higher than those of traditional retail pharmacies while providing additional services to meet the unique health needs of LTC residents, according to the findings of a new study. Read More »
This year's flu shot is not protecting those over 65 from influenza A, warns a new update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read More »
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s new proposed rule for controlled substance disposal needs more clarification when it comes to long-term care facilities, a national pharmacy group says. Read More »
In a new JAMA study, researchers question aggressive medical treatments that may keep terminally ill patients in acute care or skilled nursing instead of referring them to hospice care. Read More »
The use of psychotropic drugs in long-term care is a significant issue that every facility deals with. This article examines a highly unusual case and also suggests what nursing facilities can expect from government regulators. Read More »
Hospitals made little progress on hospital readmission rates between 2008 and 2010, and some regions have far more readmissions than the national average. Read More »
In this blog, Pamela Tabar recounts her two-week visit with a group of septuagenarians, and how snowbirding seniors can teach us a lot about the high-tech, high-service expectations senior living organizations are going to have to meet--starting now. Read More »
How much do you know about your GPO? CMS has instituted stricter disclosure rules pertaining to the financial relationships between providers and drug and device manufacturers. Read More »
The Affordable Care Act requires states to have policies to combat fraud, but each state can choose how to do it. A new database shows what each state is doing to combat Medicaid fraud on their home turf. Read More »
Too much wasted pharmacy stock, no access to the right drugs late at night and nurses spending more time with medication punch cards than with residents. Sound familiar? As managing the pharmacy delivery in long-term care becomes more complex, a mature technology sees a brand new life in long-term care. Read More »
Hospitals have had electronic health records (EHRs) for years. Now it's long-term care's turn. Industry leaders weigh in on EHR technology and long-term/post-acute care's newly respected role in the patient-centered care continuum. Read More »
