Antibiotic resistance leads to 23,000 deaths a year, providers must implement best practices: CDC ‘landmark’...
By
Tim Mullaney
Sep 17, 2013
Nursing homes are on the front lines in the increasingly urgent battle against antibiotic-resistant infections, according to a comprehensive new report that ranks the most dangerous antibiotic-resistant...
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...
Long-term care facilities approach 80% worker flu vaccination rate after handing power to regional pharmacy,...
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 18, 2014
Fourteen long-term care facilities in Pennsylvania dramatically increased their staff flu vaccination rate by having a regional pharmacy take over the process, according to a report issued Thursday by...
Medicare reform proposal needs fixes for long-term care physicians, AMDA says
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 15, 2013
Prospective Medicare changes regarding physician payments might unfairly penalize doctors working in long-term care settings, according to a prominent medical directors association.
MedPAC chairman: Three-day stay requirement is ‘archaic’
By
Tim Mullaney
Sep 16, 2014
The government should pay for skilled nursing care without a preliminary three-day hospital stay, and the recovery auditor program should be reformed, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission members said...
Long-term care providers, physicians at loggerheads over pace of doctor payment reform
By
Tim Mullaney
Feb 11, 2014
Long-term care and physician groups may be headed for an impasse when it comes to fixing Medicare’s system for paying doctors.
Medical directors raise concerns about quality reporting, health IT in long-term care settings
By
Tim Mullaney
Sep 13, 2013
Since the adoption of health information technology has varied between acute and long-term care settings, that fact should be reflected in quality reporting requirements for physicians, a prominent association...
SNF staffing data will be submitted quarterly, payroll vendors might be responsible, CMS officials say
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 14, 2014
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services soon will begin collecting quarterly staffing information from skilled nursing facilities, albeit on a voluntary basis, an official said during an Open Door...
CMS clarifies rules regarding vaccines, respite care for hospice patients
By
Tim Mullaney
Feb 11, 2014
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has loosened regulatory language regarding which providers can furnish vaccines to hospice patients, and has tightened enforcement of a five-day payment limit...
CMS releases Medicare physician payment information, includes some nursing home affiliations
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 10, 2014
Long-term care providers and residents now can glean insights into where their local doctors stack up nationally by referring to newly released data on Medicare physician payments. For the first time ever,...