Recently my colleague Ken Kelley, MS, OTR/L, RAC-CT, a clinical consultant/reimbursement specialist, posited something about Five-Star ratings that I hadn’t considered. He suggested that, in general,...
Sorting out the antipsychotic quality measures
By
Steven Littlehale
Mar 05, 2013
While antipsychotic measurements can vary, providers must carefully and thoroughly examine all antipsychotic medication use in their facility.
Analytically Speaking: CMS Quality Measures for MDS 3.0
By
Steven Littlehale
Feb 17, 2012
At first, the MDS 3.0 Quality Measures do not appear to be very different from those based on MDS 2.0. But “the devil is in the details” and nearly every measure that seems familiar is different...
Hospice improves your Quality Measures
By
Steven Littlehale
Jun 23, 2023
My father died a little over a year ago. While I usually derive tremendous comfort and support by sharing both happy and sad milestones with friends, family, and colleagues, in this instance, sharing the...
Data and empathy: The unseen defenders of nursing homes
By
Steven Littlehale
Nov 10, 2023
Back in September, I shared my insights in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News about the importance of being your own data defender. In that blog, I expressed a viewpoint that I believe strongly in: Every...
ALOS complex query
By
Steven Littlehale
Dec 01, 2013
What do you get when you ask two academics, one geriatrician, one reimbursement specialist, and an analyst to define average length of stay? Five different answers.
Five-Star is anything but frozen
By
Steven Littlehale
Dec 13, 2017
The day after Thanksgiving, CMS further defined its intensions with the Five-Star Quality Rating System; more specifically how the new survey process and derivative data will be used in its calculation...
Focus on long-stay rates
By
Steven Littlehale
Sep 04, 2015
By now, everyone has heard the resounding drumbeat of 30-day rehospitalization rates. What is yours? Are you improving? Are you using the National Quality Forum’s endorsed method for calculating?
The country line dance of pain management: One step forward, two steps back
By
Steven Littlehale
Mar 05, 2021
“Pain is whatever the experiencing person says it is.” “We just hope that you don’t say it. Oh, and we’ll likely not hear you anyway.” We credit Mary Margo McCaffery, MS, RN-BC, FAAN, a pioneer...
A concept worth exploring: using clinical data to develop a marketing campaign
By
Steven Littlehale
Jun 24, 2009
Information is readily available, so why not use it to your advantage? Developing a marketing strategy based on clinical evidence from your skilled nursing facility could prove invaluable in attracting...