The nursing home survey system is about to get a much closer look
By
John O'Connor
Aug 29, 2014
You had to know this was coming. Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that many nursing homes are submitting massaged staffing and quality indicator data to the feds. The alleged reason? So facilities...
Game changer for long-term care? More like a game ender
By
John O'Connor
Aug 17, 2020
New survey numbers from the American Health Care Association paint an industry portrait that is anything but flattering. Shocking might be more like it.
A do-nothing Congress? Hardly.
By
John O'Connor
Dec 11, 2023
I’ll say this for Congress: Its members sure know a thing or two about aesthetics.
Hope I die before I get (too) old
By
John O'Connor
Aug 19, 2013
When it comes to life spans, we are the chosen ones.
The star treatment is here to stay
By
John O'Connor
Jul 20, 2012
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has just rolled out its latest version of Nursing Home Compare. If your facility garnered five stars, you probably love it. If you received one star, you surely...
The truth can set you free — or put your long-term care facility out of business
By
John O'Connor
Jan 11, 2013
Journalists generally get all warm and tingly when previously guarded information becomes available. It must be in our DNA. So I should probably be cheering ProPublica’s announcement that the government...
Reducing seniors’ drug use, one iPod at a time
By
John O'Connor
Mar 28, 2014
For reasons that are understandable yet hard to countenance, antipsychotic drugs are widely used in nursing homes. Too often over-used, according to government statistics. But it’s beginning to look...
Holding the regulators in check
By
John O'Connor
May 27, 2024
By now you have probably heard the American Health Care Association plans to take industry regulators to court.
Top 5 news stories reveal varied interests among long-term care professionals
By
John O'Connor
Jan 03, 2014
What do neck abnormalities, dangerous bacteria, a murder-suicide, a defensive nursing home chain, and antipsychotic guidelines have in common? These five developments were voted the most popular news stories...
Why are more RAC audits happening? There are trillions of reasons
By
John O'Connor
Sep 10, 2012
Recovery audit contractors are stepping up their efforts to review Medicare billings. This appears to be a classic case of auditors gone wild.