Message from the White House: Don’t trust nursing homes
By
John O'Connor
Mar 08, 2013
Ever wonder how much regard the White House has for long-term care operators? A brief filed last week makes the answer abundantly clear: very little.
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...
The G-codes are here for payment claims — ready or not
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
May 23, 2013
Effective July 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will begin rejecting claims received for Medicare Part B patients that do not include the new requirement of G-coding. That really means providers...
How should long-term care providers celebrate? Let us count the ways
By
James M. Berklan
Mar 31, 2016
Long-term care operators have plenty of reasons to recoil and lick their wounds over the course of a year. But there are also good times when they should find reason to smile. Like this past week.
Do you know your P’s and Q’s of QAPI?
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
Feb 21, 2013
The Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement system from CMS is on our doorsteps. As facilities have been training and educating themselves, the new QIS (Quality Indicator Surveys) are ready to roll....
Selling fear: Are you buying?
By
Steven Littlehale
Oct 17, 2016
Fearmongering has certainly played a major role in the 2016 presidential race, but you might not realize it’s also become more and more common in our own industry as well.
Old wine, new bottles: Increased scrutiny for antipsychotic drug use
By
Alan C. Horowitz, Esq., RN
Feb 22, 2013
The landmark legislation known as “OBRA ’87” (the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987) significantly limited the inappropriate use of antipsychotic drug use in long-term care facilities....
NPWT yields positive results for patients
By
Randall R. Carson
May 06, 2013
Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (“NPWT”) is one of the oldest forms of medicinal therapy used to heal the human body. Over the past decade there has been a significant increase in the use of...
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’...
Reducing antipsychotics one resident at a time
By
John O'Connor
Dec 02, 2013
Like many bad habits, the overuse of antipsychotics is not going down without a fight. Still, there are reasons for long-term optimism.