Resident smoking polices mean much more than cleaner air at long-term care facilities. As recent incidents demonstrate, having effective policies for residents – and making sure they are followed...
CMS should modernize hospital admission status policies, say provider groups
By
McKnight's Staff
Sep 07, 2012
Provider groups assert regulators should update existing policies when determining hospital inpatient and outpatient admission status.
Shining some light on the new Five Star system
By
Steven Littlehale
Sep 05, 2012
The Five Star overall score is comprised of three domains: Survey, Staffing and Quality Measures. This month, look a little deeper into the overall Five Star Scores.
Breaches of basic infection control practices — why?
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Jul 30, 2012
Basic infection prevention and control isn’t rocket science. It is essentially following some general guidelines. Some of them pretty simplistic. Not too hard right? You would think, but …
iPods coming to an eldercare facility near you
By
Mary Gustafson
Jul 26, 2012
When I first spoke with Music & Memory founder Dan Cohen last year, he had big plans for his new program that would put iPods with personalized playlists in Alzheimer’s and other dementia patients’...
Reports forecast Medicare funding boost, dim overall outlook
By
McKnight's Staff
Apr 23, 2012
The Affordable Care Act will help Medicare save over $200 billion through 2016, according to government actuaries. But questions as to Medicare’s long-term solvency remain, another report from Social...
Providers would be overburdened by Medicare overpayment rule, expert notes
By
McKnight's Staff
Apr 06, 2012
A proposed rule that would require Medicare providers to return overpayments within 60 days of detection could significantly increase administrative time and costs, an expert says.
Overhaul of Nursing Home Compare website is complete
Aug 02, 2011
The redesign of the federal Nursing Home Compare website, which lets consumers file complaints more easily and compare facilities based on quality measures, is complete.
Nursing homes to be judged by 21 new quality measures on federal website
Mar 04, 2011
The National Quality Forum on Wednesday came out in support of 21 measures to be used to care for both long-term nursing home residents and short-stay patients. These measures will be included in the Centers...
Provider conference call Wednesday to focus on MDS, RUGs, nursing home payment changes
Aug 27, 2010
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will host another free conference call Wednesday for providers to learn more about the transition from the RUG-III payment system to RUG-IV. The new MDS 3.0...