The G-codes are here for payment claims — ready or not
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
May 23, 2013
Effective July 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will begin rejecting claims received for Medicare Part B patients that do not include the new requirement of G-coding. That really means providers...
Superbugs in long-term care
By
Gary Milburn, Ph.D.
May 17, 2013
Superbugs threaten ill and compromised patients, particularly those in long-term care settings. They are resistant to most antibiotics and can spread widely within hospitals and long-term care facilities.
Pressure ulcer prevention basics
By
James G. Spahn, M.D., FACS
May 13, 2013
What exactly is a pressure ulcer? It is mechanical stress—pressure, shear or friction—that causes ischemic necrosis of at-risk soft tissue. Pressure ulcers were once thought to happen only to those...
Medically Complex Medicare Part B
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
May 08, 2013
While CMS tries to figure out how to proceed with the manual medical review process, we continue to track our caps and apply our modifiers. In the meantime, has anyone noticed how our typical Medicare...
“Life After Life” may be your life
By
Elizabeth Newman
Apr 25, 2013
Behold, readers: There’s a new work of literary fiction that takes place in a long-term care facility.
Improve resident health by reducing employee stress
By
Bruce Baron
Apr 24, 2013
An accomplished director of nursing recently told me that finding replacement staff to cover for staff call-outs is a key contributor to stress at her community. There is technology to help with call-outs.
Reviewing the top 10 errors in rehab documentation
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
Apr 23, 2013
As a long-term care therapy consultant, I work on a lot of claim reviews and denials management with my clients. I’ve also read a lot of peer-review research articles related to this subject, and...
Pssst, here’s how the LTC lobby can eliminate the 3-day rule — and gain other Congressional perks
By
John O'Connor
Apr 19, 2013
You might not be old enough to remember the “Schoolhouse Rock” videos that aired between cartoons on Saturday mornings during the 1970s. One of my favorites was “I’m Just a Bill.”...
Managing change
Apr 18, 2013
Manual processes for crushing pills is no longer working, but changes in technology provide solutions for providers.
Of Purell and payment reform
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 16, 2013
I was sympathetic when the Partnership for Sustainable Health Care called for a speedier shift away from fee-for-service last week — and I also thought about Purell. Yes, that Purell.