All long-term care and other healthcare facilities should have a proper Medical Equipment Management Program in place. With budgetary issues, staff cutbacks and decreasing reimbursements, many facilities...
Therapy with a twist (of lemon)
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 01, 2013
As you read this, you might be eyeing the new RAI manual that takes effect today, and are feeling a bit overwhelmed at the sheer number of new pages. So it’s with great regret that I have to add...
Reviewing the top 10 errors in rehab documentation
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
Apr 23, 2013
As a long-term care therapy consultant, I work on a lot of claim reviews and denials management with my clients. I’ve also read a lot of peer-review research articles related to this subject, and...
Will there be a ‘real’ CMS administrator soon? It’s looking so
By
James M. Berklan
Apr 03, 2013
If you’re a gambling person, it looks like the odds just got a whole lot better for Marilyn Tavenner becoming the next administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. That’s...
Technology in the nursing home
By
Michael Defrancesco
Feb 13, 2013
Not too long ago, the mortar and pestle were the mechanism of choice to crush pills. Today, the average facility has to crush pills for around 30% of its residents. Now there is an easier way to crush...
Beware of hospital observation loopholes
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
Dec 07, 2012
Hospitals have been undergoing more and more restrictions on re-admissions and are now facing financial penalties in some situations. Unfortunately, this has also resulted in more patients not being classified...
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...
It’s time to take sides about Obamacare’s future
By
James M. Berklan
Mar 08, 2017
Tuesday’s statement from the American Health Care Association on Republicans’ plan to repeal and replace Obamacare was striking. There was no walking a tightrope or mealy-mouthed ambiguity...
Change is coming: what to expect from Verma’s CMS
By
Feb 14, 2017
With former Georgia Congressman Tom Price confirmed as the new head of the Department of Health and Human Services, it’s time to turn the focus on the person picked by President Donald Trump to helm...
How to quickly size up the health of any facility
By
John O'Connor
Oct 24, 2016
When it comes to measuring how well a long-term care facility is doing, we all know the usual benchmarks: revenues, profits and census levels.