Regulators to double down on QAPI after government report on adverse events in post-acute care
By
Tim Mullaney
Mar 07, 2014
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services sees the upcoming Quality Assurance & Performance Improvement guidelines, not harsher penalties, as the way to reduce adverse events in post-acute care, officials...
CMS allows less-severe citations for nursing homes installing a sprinkler system
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 19, 2013
Nursing homes might be able to reduce the scope and severity of deficiency citations related to sprinkler systems, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently announced.
Congressman requests briefing on nursing home five-star rating system
By
Tim Mullaney
Aug 28, 2014
A leader in Congress has called for an evaluation of the nursing home five-star rating system in light of a recent New York Times article. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) requested that Centers for Medicare...
Nursing homes send too many dementia residents to the hospital in their last year of life, study finds
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 11, 2014
Nursing homes could do a better job of keeping residents with dementia out of the hospital during their last year of life, suggests recently published findings in Health Affairs.
Government shutdown will not cripple long-term care, leaders say
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 01, 2013
Long-term care providers will feel some effects but should not experience serious disruptions due to the shutdown of the federal government, according to prominent trade associations.
CMS releases new Minimum Data Set training videos; session on coding to kick off McKnight’s Online...
By
Tim Mullaney
Mar 25, 2014
Post-acute providers now can refer to four new Minimum Data Set training videos from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which answer frequently asked questions and clarify tricky items related...
Government report: 1 in 5 Medicare patients suffers an adverse event while receiving post-acute SNF care
By
Tim Mullaney
Mar 04, 2014
About 22% of Medicare beneficiaries experienced an adverse event during a post-hospitalization skilled nursing facility stay in fiscal year 2011, and the majority of these events were preventable, according...
Advance directives reach record levels, but this does not lead to more hospice use, researchers find
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 03, 2014
Seniors are completing advance directives in record numbers, but this is not having the expected effect of shifting people from hospitals to hospices in their last days, say researchers from the University...
Nurses who use a smartphone before bed may be more distracted at work, researchers say
By
Tim Mullaney
Jan 30, 2014
Nurses who use a smartphone at night for work-related reasons are likely to be less effective on the job the next day, according to recently published research from Michigan State University.
Obesity indeed increases seniors’ risk of death, will be long-standing issue for LTC providers:...
By
Tim Mullaney
Aug 19, 2013
Obesity does not decrease seniors’ risk of death, according to a new study that calls into question previous findings. The new study also suggests that long-term care providers will see an increasing...