CMS: Nurse shortage means hospices can keep using contracted workers
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 08, 2014
Hospices can continue to rely on contract nurses because an ongoing nurse shortage is preventing providers from meeting their staffing needs, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced in a...
Updated emergency prep checklist from CMS includes resident tracking procedures
By
Tim Mullaney
Mar 04, 2014
Long-term care facilities should have written plans for how they will track residents during evacuations, according to an updated emergency preparedness checklist from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid...
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...
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently finalized 2014 Medicare rate updates for hospices and inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and also laid out quality metrics. Hospices will receive...
Overdocumentation and cloning in electronic health records are overlooked risks, investigators say
By
Tim Mullaney
Jan 09, 2014
Auditors reviewing Medicare and Medicaid claims from electronic health records are largely treating them in the same manner as paper claims, even though they pose unique risks for overbilling and fraud,...
Court tosses out citation for runny eggs, limits surveyors
By
Tim Mullaney
Jul 01, 2013
Slapped with an Immediate Jeopardy citation for serving undercooked eggs to residents, a nursing home took its defense to a federal appeals court — and won. The court staked out limits on how government...
CMS updates coding instructions for hospice site of service, principal diagnosis
By
Tim Mullaney
Sep 02, 2014
A new Medicare hospice manual update includes instructions for which principal diagnosis codes are acceptable, and clarifies which codes should be used for services in a skilled versus non-skilled nursing...
CMS revises hospice rules
By
Tim Mullaney
Aug 02, 2013
A long-term care provider and its hospice partner will need to draw up a detailed contract, according to a final rule released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and published in the Federal...
Better anti-fraud efforts are not appeasing lawmakers
By
Tim Mullaney
Aug 01, 2014
Long-term care facilities and other Medicare providers increasingly have seen reimbursements influenced by the government’s Fraud Prevention System, an official recently told a Congressional panel.
White House to providers: New antibiotic regs on the way
By
Tim Mullaney
Sep 23, 2014
Long-term care providers should take pride in their antipsychotic reduction efforts, and certainly should work hard to meet the new goals announced Friday. But it should not escape their notice that just...