Long-term care and CMS workers occupy common ground
By
Tim Mullaney
Dec 03, 2013
Long-term care workers and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services employees might have a lot in common — and that’s not entirely good news.
CMS fails to measure outcomes of the zone program integrity contractor program: government report
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 26, 2013
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is not thoroughly assessing how well zone program integrity contractors are contributing to Medicare anti-fraud efforts, according to a new report from the...
Caregivers should prepare for some residents to ‘get worse’ during antipsychotic drawdown,...
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 26, 2013
Leaders in long-term care facilities should take steps to ensure that residents with dementia are not unnecessarily put back on antipsychotic medications, according to officials who spoke on a call with...
Drug treatment eliminates ‘nightmare bacteria’ colonies in people, researchers find
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 26, 2013
Particular kinds of antibiotics are effective in eliminating colonies of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in asymptomatic carriers of the deadly bacteria, according to newly published research.
Moneyball, long-term care style
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 26, 2013
Billy Beane’s data-driven approach to baseball recruiting made the Oakland A’s a winning franchise, inspired a Brad Pitt movie — and might soon change the way long-term care operators hire...
CMS too burdened and focused on cost to be the epicenter of long-term care reform, experts say
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 21, 2013
Most long-term care reforms rely on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for implementation, but the overburdened agency cannot manage all the needed changes in this area, according to a panel...
ACA put the brakes on spending across the care continuum, White House economists say
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 21, 2013
Spending on healthcare, including skilled nursing care, has grown at a historically slow rate in the last three years, according to a new analysis from the Council of Economic Advisers. The group, which...
Doing nurse shift handovers at bedside improves outcomes and satisfaction, study finds
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 21, 2013
Nurses can cut down on errors and improve patients’ satisfaction by conducting shift change meetings at bedsides rather than at a nursing station, according to recently published research.
Hospital admission rates show need for new nursing home quality measure , OIG and CMS say
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 20, 2013
One in four nursing home residents on Medicare was hospitalized in 2011, costing the program $14.3 billion, according to a new report from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector...
CARES Act would waive three-midnight requirement for nursing facilities with high quality ratings
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 20, 2013
Certain skilled nursing facilities could provide Medicare-covered services to beneficiaries without a preceding hospital stay, under a new bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.