The 2015 National Impact Assessment of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Quality Measures Report shows “clear progress in improving the healthcare delivery system to achieve the three...
Officials: More additions and rebasings of nursing home ratings to come
By
James M. Berklan
Feb 23, 2015
Nearly one-third of the nation’s skilled nursing facilities lost a rating star due purely to administrative changes Friday, when regulators also emphasized that more quality measures will be added...
Brennan to lead new CMS office
Nov 20, 2014
Niall Brennan is the first Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services Chief Data Officer, the agency announced. He will lead the new Office of Enterprise Data and Analytics.
Replace the Five Star Quality Ratings system with points?
By
John O'Connor
Nov 17, 2014
There’s a need to fix what’s broken with the Five Star nursing homes-ratings system, and the way to do it is obvious.
The schizophrenia of patient-centered care
By
Jacqueline Vance, RNC, CDONA/LTC
Nov 11, 2014
Is it me or sometimes do the wide interpretations within the State Operations Manual (the dreaded “RED book”) make you want to question your entire existence? I mean, we’ve been working...
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...
Lawmakers demand answers about rating system quirks
By
John O'Connor
Oct 01, 2014
After The New York Times noted that providers are apparently gaming the Five Star rating system by enhancing staffing and quality data, federal lawmakers quickly put an indignant pen to paper.
Providers must see clearly before they CHOW down
By
Richard Cheng
Sep 29, 2014
When a skilled nursing facility changes ownership, the change is known in healthcare vernacular as a change of ownership or “CHOW.” Because this could wind up endangering a Medicare provider...
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...
Antipsychotics reduction goal raised to 30% by end of 2016, CMS and provider groups announce
By
Elizabeth Newman
Sep 19, 2014
Long-term care providers are being asked to reduce the use of antipsychotic medications among residents by 25% by the end of 2015, and 30% by the end of 2016. Providers have already achieved a 17.1% reduction...