A toxic nursing home strike that gets weirder by the day
By
John O'Connor
Feb 11, 2013
The late Hunter S. Thompson famously said that when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. By his logic, the management and workers involved in a strike across five HealthBridge Management facilities...
Proposed law could raise labor costs for long-term care operators
By
John O'Connor
Feb 08, 2013
Many a provider broke out in cold sweats when the Family and Medical Leave Act was cobbled together two decades ago.
Good news, for lawyers
By
John O'Connor
Feb 02, 2013
We journalists tend to get all warm and tingly when previously guarded information is finally made public. It must be in our DNA.
Enforcement of privacy rules now delayed until March 31
By
John O'Connor
Feb 01, 2013
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has pushed back enforcement of two electronic healthcare transaction rules by three months, the agency announced in January. That gives providers until March...
NQF’s measures target pressure ulcers
By
John O'Connor
Feb 01, 2013
The National Quality Forum (NQF) Board of Directors recently endorsed 12 patient safety measures with a focus on complications. The measures address pressure ulcers, falls, healthcare-associated infections...
Is the National Football League our best hope for Alzheimer’s progress?
By
John O'Connor
Feb 04, 2013
More than 110 million Americans watched yesterday’s Super Bowl in New Orleans. It’s not too hard to see why the game has become our nation’s defining cultural ritual. The National Football...
This pilot long-term care program might require actual pilots
By
John O'Connor
Jan 25, 2013
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services often backs pilot programs that might help improve long-term care services. In recent years, the agency has funded efforts to do things such as update employee...
The truth can set you free — or put your long-term care facility out of business
By
John O'Connor
Jan 11, 2013
Journalists generally get all warm and tingly when previously guarded information becomes available. It must be in our DNA. So I should probably be cheering ProPublica’s announcement that the government...
OIG report seeks increased safeguards in the EHR arena
By
John O'Connor
Jan 02, 2013
The move to electronic health records recently had a red flag thrown in front of it by a report from the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Groups blast new IRS device tax rules
By
John O'Connor
Jan 02, 2013
Internal Revenue Service guidance released in December spells out how a 2.3% excise tax on medical devices would be carried out.