It’s that time of year again when the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Editorial Panel meets with the task of ensuring its codes remain up to date.
How to reduce medication overload in long-term care
By
Judith Garber
Shannon Brownlee
Feb 24, 2020
Over the past decade, the use of multiple medications (clinically known as “polypharmacy”) has skyrocketed among older adults. Aging brings ailments and chronic illnesses, and more illnesses generally...
Let’s remove the long-term care ‘fraud tattoo’
By
Tara Roberts
Nov 25, 2013
Even though this legislation ostensibly is supposed to help providers, the “Medicare Established Provider Act” may encourage facilities to react or continue to act ultra-conservatively in the...
And he did it ‘his way’ — will you and yours?
By
Steven Littlehale
Jul 21, 2017
Packing for New Jersey to help Bernie (my father-in-law, whom I was honored to call “Dad”) navigate his transition from hospitalization to SNF, something told me to pack a suit.
Creating a dialysis-friendly facility
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
May 10, 2016
There is much that can be done to improve the quality of life for dialysis patients at your facility and showcase your facility as dialysis-friendly at the same time. Unfortunately, many providers are...
Policing and preventing pneumonia outbreaks
By
Elizabeth Cerceo, M.D., FACP
Dec 11, 2015
Anyone involved in the care of the chronically ill and those in long-term care facilities is always vigilant in monitoring for the beginnings of pneumonia in this vulnerable population, many of whom have...
Bad news on the doorstep
By
Gary Tetz
Mar 19, 2020
Compared to shoppers tearing apart a pallet of toilet paper, our facility staff have been Buddhas in scrubs during the recent pandemic. But even they aren’t the most inspiring out of all of this.
Inconvenient tears
By
Gary Tetz
Oct 09, 2014
How dare you, Patrick! And just when my day was going so well.
Don’t drop the ball when the music ends: creating the right discharge plans
By
Steven Littlehale
Jul 02, 2014
Providing a safe handoff during discharge from a skilled nursing facility is the operator’s responsibility. Unfortunately, it’s not happening enough. SNFs without effective discharge planning...
The benefits of a successful discharge plan
By
Susan LaGrange
Jun 20, 2014
It is critical to have a solid system for discharge planning that begins even before the resident is admitted to the facility. Individualized, resident-centered discharge planning will provide a solid...