CMS issues guidance on incomplete, unsubmitted MDS discharge assessments
By
Tim Mullaney
Aug 27, 2013
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has clarified steps providers must take to comply with Minimum Data Set requirements regarding incomplete or unsubmitted discharge assessments.
Assisted living residents say ‘homelike’ setting not so important
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 30, 2014
Contrary to conventional wisdom, assisted living residents might not place a high value on how “homelike” their surroundings are, suggest findings out of St. Catherine University in St. Paul,...
Bipartisan bill proposes new provider networks to serve chronically ill seniors
By
Tim Mullaney
Jan 16, 2014
Skilled nursing and rehabilitation providers would be able to join networks dedicated to treating chronically ill Medicare patients, under a new bipartisan bill introduced Wednesday in both houses of Congress....
Medicare should pay for skilled nursing services without a qualifying hospital stay, experts tell Senators
By
Tim Mullaney
Jul 31, 2014
The time has come to eliminate hospital stay requirements for beneficiaries to qualify for Medicare coverage of skilled nursing services, experts told a Senate committee Wednesday.
Nursing home infection rates have increased across the board, hepatitis has surged 50%, Columbia researchers...
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 09, 2014
The rate of nursing home infections increased during a recent five-year period, with especially dramatic surges in multi-drug resistant organisms and viral hepatitis, according to recently published findings...
Day in the Life: Sniffing out wandering residents
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 01, 2014
Long-term care providers might want to get themselves an Acki to help locate residents who wander from the premises. No, Acki is not the name of a brand new electronic monitoring system. Acki is a German...
Drug agency officially proposes to restrict access to hydrocodone medications
By
Tim Mullaney
Mar 05, 2014
The federal government is on the verge of tightening access to Vicodin and similar types of painkillers by moving the drugs from Schedule III to Schedule II classification. Long-term care providers have...
With ICD-10 transition date firm and testing imminent, Medicare agency releases new provider resources
By
Tim Mullaney
Feb 28, 2014
Long-term care providers can refer to newly released materials about looming ICD-10 testing and the overall transition to the new coding system, but they should not expect any delay in the Oct. 1 transition...
FDA proposes glucose meter guidance to improve infection control in nursing homes, hospitals
By
Tim Mullaney
Jan 09, 2014
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has drafted more stringent guidelines for blood glucose monitoring test systems used in nursing homes, hospitals and other healthcare settings.
CMS memo explains four-part testing approach for ICD-10 implementation
By
Tim Mullaney
Feb 20, 2014
A new transmittal from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services provides details about its four-part approach to implementing ICD-10 codes for Medicare fee-for-service claims. Medicare providers will...