CMS discharge program isn’t reaching those with highest readmission risks: study
By
Kristen Fischer
Mar 22, 2024
A new report took a deeper dive to see if the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ transitional care management (TCM) program is reaching those most at risk. Even though the program is designed to...
Brushing away the risk: The crucial role of daily toothbrushing in preventing hospital-acquired pneumonia
By
Renee Kinder
Jan 18, 2024
A phenomenon that skilled nursing teams have long appreciated was recently highlighted in a recent article published in JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers Ehrenzeller and Klompas shed light on a critical...
State ‘confused’ nursing homes with early COVID directives, and also should fund them better, analysis...
By
Josh Henreckson
Mar 15, 2024
The state government’s response to the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic left New Jersey nursing homes confused and without adequate supplies, according to a new independent analysis.
MA’s cost-management tools may be hurting home healthcare quality, outcomes
By
Adam Healy
Mar 05, 2024
MA copays, prior authorizations and restricted provider networks may be preventing home healthcare providers from delivering care.
Death rates higher in emergency spine surgery compared to hip operations, study finds
By
Kristen Fischer
Feb 28, 2024
The rates of death after emergency spine fracture surgery in older adults are high, but how do they compare to emergency surgeries for other common fractures in older adults, such as hip fractures? Death...
The changes to end-of-life skin wound classification in the most recent Minimum Data Set update are ultimately a positive for long-term care, but regulatory ambiguity and potential legal concerns still...
The future of long-term care recruitment and retention: How experts can better attract and retain quality...
Mar 28, 2024
Even though wages and benefits have increased for the long-term care workforce, the sector still suffers from an ongoing shortage of skilled caregivers. Innovative solutions, however, have shown the potential...
Palliative care reaches more people with default consult order option, study finds
By
Kristen Fischer
Jan 18, 2024
Here’s a way to make sure that people receive palliative care sooner rather than later: Make clinicians evaluate the patient for it when people are hospitalized.
Back from the brink: Inside the battle to save nation’s second-largest nursing home
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 15, 2024
BALTIMORE — Two years after federal officials stripped the nation’s second largest nursing home of its Medicare and Medicaid certification, officials have outlined the 960-step plan it took to walk...
Congress advisers back permanent telehealth expansions, look to nix in-person rule for behavioral telehealth...
By
Kimberly Marselas
Apr 12, 2024
Maintaining Medicare beneficiaries’ access to telehealth services, especially for behavioral health, must remain an initial priority over payment reform or quality measurement, members of a congressional...