Attention bundled payment critics: Curb your enthusiasm
By
John O'Connor
Jan 09, 2017
A recent study found that bundling Medicare payments can dramatically cut costs without sacrificing quality. But the man likely to be the next Health and Human Services secretary is no fan of this new...
Canaries in a coal mine
By
John O'Connor
Dec 06, 2016
When it comes to measuring how well a long-term care facility is doing, we all know the usual benchmarks: revenues, profits and census levels.
For one glorious moment, a warped perspective makes sense — sort of
By
John O'Connor
Nov 07, 2016
If you look at America’s sports-addicted dynamic from a purely logical standpoint, it defies logic. Cities and states pull funds away from needed services in order to comfort the comfortable? In...
Our quiet revolution
By
John O'Connor
Nov 05, 2016
The CommonWell Health Alliance recently announced that members soon will be giving patients instant access to virtually all their health data.
How to quickly size up the health of any facility
By
John O'Connor
Oct 24, 2016
When it comes to measuring how well a long-term care facility is doing, we all know the usual benchmarks: revenues, profits and census levels.
We need to have a talk
By
John O'Connor
Sep 05, 2016
Some necessary conversations tend to be awkward and uncomfortable.
It’s time for ‘the talk’ about healthcare fraud
By
John O'Connor
Aug 01, 2016
Some necessary conversations tend to be awkward and uncomfortable. They include talking to our children about baby making. Or convincing our parents to give up the car keys. Or talking to government investigators...
A note from SNFs to hospitals: Stay away from Misfit Island
By
John O'Connor
Jul 25, 2016
Hospitals need to toughen up. Their impending new five-star rating system isn’t going to be the end of the world (at least, not for most of them). But if the experience of skilled nursing homes is...
Long-term care operators feeling alone again, naturally
By
John O'Connor
Jun 27, 2016
Say what you will about Republican lawmakers and their notions of healthcare reform: at least they’re consistent. Like their Democratic colleagues, they simply don’t seem to realize that long-term...
The Alzheimer’s investment that’s not being made
By
John O'Connor
Jun 13, 2016
Our best hope to make progress against Alzheimer’s disease probably lies in the form of increased research funding.