Sorry, ladies, I didn’t mean to get your hopes up with that title. But does anyone else feel like there is a lot of ambiguity to the new G-Coding system? Well, it’s a little too early to tell...
The boss at CMS has some nice things to say about regulations
By
John O'Connor
Jan 22, 2018
It appears there may be some good news ahead, courtesy of the boss at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Looking at dementia beyond drugs and disease
By
G. Allen Power, M.D.
Aug 01, 2014
The emerging literature on “nonpharmacological interventions” has not succeeded in providing long-term solutions for many people, such that expressions of need continue to recur on a regular...
How would you like to spend some ‘quality time’ with CMS?
By
John O'Connor
Sep 24, 2018
First it was staffing data, could Uncle Sam be after providers for quality data next? One Senator might be after just that.
Sprinkler mandate fails to soak in
By
John O'Connor
May 25, 2012
Ben Franklin warned us that death and taxes are life’s only certainties. But if you run a long-term care facility, feel free to add regulations to that list. And it looks like a doozy of a looming...
CMS ‘overpayment’ rule may come at a greater cost
By
Glenn P. Hendrix
May 02, 2012
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently issued a proposed rule addressing how it will implement the 60-day deadline for returning overpayments made to federal health programs. If fully adopted,...
When CMS turns carrots into sticks
By
John O'Connor
Sep 17, 2012
The revised hospital payment system technically hasn’t begun yet. But that doesn’t mean senior living operators shouldn’t find a dark cloud around this silver lining.
Eliminating the “Black Hole”: Transitions of care
By
Donald Quinn, M.D.
Aug 12, 2013
In the early days of hospitalist medicine, we described the period between hospital discharge and follow-up at the skilled nursing facility, long-term care acute care hospital or a primary care physician...
Troubling steps ahead for Nursing Home Compare?
By
John O'Connor
Apr 13, 2012
A newly announced plan to mine data from Medicare Advantage plans might give many operators an unexpected spine shiver.
Antipsychotics report will have severe side effects
By
John O'Connor
Jul 13, 2012
Antipsychotic drugs are often used to calm residents with dementia. This reality is common knowledge among most people who have spent more than a few minutes in a nursing facility. But it is apparently...