Medicare claims reviews should be more streamlined, government report states
By
Tim Mullaney
May 23, 2014
The government could improve Medicare oversight by creating a more uniform and unified post-payment review system, according to a report from federal officials.
Of Brookdale and branding: Thoughts for the small operator
By
Tim Mullaney
Feb 25, 2014
Brookdale Senior Living’s acquisition of Emeritus Corp. is part of an ambitious strategy to make Brookdale the first truly national U.S. eldercare brand. So is it ominous that the Feb. 20 merger...
Code status ‘cheat sheet’ draws scrutiny, nursing home challenges neglect finding
By
Tim Mullaney
Dec 12, 2014
A “cheat sheet” to track residents’ code status has become a source of controversy in the case of a Minnesota man who died without being given CPR, according to local news sources.
I couldn’t live without … Cerner CareTracker
By
Tim Mullaney
Jun 01, 2013
Cerner’s CareTracker has allowed Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America facilities to provide better resident-centered care, according to director of clinical information Jeanne Gerstenkorn, RN, BSN,...
CMS seeks comment on new post-acute admission policies for accountable care organizations
By
Tim Mullaney
Dec 03, 2014
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is considering giving accountable care organizations more flexibility in how their patients can access post-acute care. The agency described these policies...
AHCA: Managed care transparency needed
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 01, 2014
The government should collect and release more claims information from managed care plans, the nation’s largest long-term care provider association stated in a recent letter to Senate leaders.
Providers could lose Medicaid money and patient information due to ICD-10 transition, researchers find
By
Tim Mullaney
Mar 13, 2014
Healthcare providers could experience financial and information losses when they make the mandated transition to the new International Classification of Diseases coding system in October, according to...
Electronic records can reveal which nurses are most effective, researchers say
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 13, 2014
Nursing homes might be able to identify and reward their highest performing nurses by analyzing data, and those with a bachelor’s degree are likely to be in that group, suggest recently published...
Federal watchdog agency joins chorus for observation stay reform, reports on scope of the problem
By
Tim Mullaney
Jul 31, 2013
Observation status prevented hundreds of thousands of people from qualifying for Medicare coverage of skilled nursing services last year, showing the pressing need for reform, according to a government...
Five-star ratings: What a racquet?
By
Tim Mullaney
Sep 16, 2014
The provider community can sound downright oxymoronic when it comes to the five-star rating system for nursing homes.