Data analysis doesn’t always lead to good choices: report
By
John O'Connor
Jun 04, 2012
Long-term care operators are increasing their commitment to gathering, storing, accessing and analyzing data. But many firms fail to harness that data in ways that lead to good business decisions, according...
Odds don’t favor another round of Obamacare
By
John O'Connor
Apr 23, 2012
The Supreme Court may be two months away from announcing whether President Barack Obama’s health care law is legal. But court watchers are already speculating on what will happen if the measure is...
And you thought long-term care operators lived in silos?
By
John O'Connor
Apr 20, 2012
Our Founding Fathers were wise to separate our government’s executive, legislative and judicial branches. As we’ve seen all too often, concentrated power leads to disastrous results.
Doubling down on a Supreme Court thumping
By
John O'Connor
Apr 06, 2012
When I recently predicted the new healthcare law’s repeal, plenty of people disagreed. One of these unfortunates is Elizabeth Newman, a colleague and confidant here at McKnight’s, who has one...
Federal rules will come to assisted living
By
John O'Connor
Mar 16, 2012
If you ever want to get an assisted living operator’s blood boiling, ask how the plans for federal oversight are coming along. You’d be better off asking a less insulting question, like how...
New policy triggers rehab mode change
By
John O'Connor
Mar 01, 2012
Individual therapy services are seeing a huge spike across skilled care settings, according to a new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services report. The shift seems to reveal how a change in payment rules...
Bill McKnight, a gentle giant
By
John O'Connor
Feb 27, 2012
I last talked with our magazine’s founder, Bill McKnight, about six years ago. Despite having sold the magazine many years ago, he was typically gracious and helpful for an article I was writing....
Coping with a death too soon
By
John O'Connor
Feb 17, 2012
You will not last long in this field unless you learn how to deal with dying and death. They are inescapable realities in a profession where most customers are old and sick. But there is no way to be completely...
Peace is hell
By
John O'Connor
Feb 03, 2012
On Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke delivered some tough-love testimony about rising healthcare costs and our shrinking Treasury. This would be very sobering news indeed — if an easy answer...
Meager resource allocation can sink tech efforts: CAST
By
John O'Connor
Feb 01, 2012
High expenses and poor internal collaboration often undermine provider efforts to implement new technology initiatives, according to a report from LeadingAge’s Center for Aging Services Technologies.