The day after Thanksgiving, CMS further defined its intensions with the Five-Star Quality Rating System; more specifically how the new survey process and derivative data will be used in its calculation...
And he did it ‘his way’ — will you and yours?
By
Steven Littlehale
Jul 21, 2017
Packing for New Jersey to help Bernie (my father-in-law, whom I was honored to call “Dad”) navigate his transition from hospitalization to SNF, something told me to pack a suit.
Do the new QMs have you seeing stars?
By
Steven Littlehale
Mar 18, 2016
Actions providers take now will make or break their Five-Star Quality Rating experience in July. That’s because the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has changed quality measures in a way...
2019 predictions From a cockeyed optimist
By
Steven Littlehale
Jan 11, 2019
I did an informal survey around the office to get a broad set of the top 13 predictions for 2019 and I’d like to share them with you. There is some cheek in these predictions, but all grounded in solid...
New SNF Value-Based Purchasing program: Act now!
By
Steven Littlehale
Apr 28, 2023
When I read my first SNF PPS final rule about 25 years ago, I thought that the start dates for some of its initiatives were so far in the future that they were of no concern. As a young person, my long-range...
Telehealth is a linchpin to SNF success
By
Steven Littlehale
Sep 17, 2021
Telehealth Awareness Week (September 19–25) is a time to highlight and reinforce the critical role of telehealth. Telehealth is the use of telecommunications technology to deliver care and health...
Who cares about Five-Star during a pandemic?
By
Steven Littlehale
Jun 15, 2020
Just as the sun continues to rise, the need to objectively monitor and evaluate care in nursing homes has not ceased, nor has the need for providers to continuously work on quality improvement initiatives.
Copernicus update! The Earth now revolves around ICD-10 codes
By
Steven Littlehale
Oct 03, 2018
In the past, our skilled nursing world has revolved around a sun of its own, known as resource utilization groups (particularly the lucrative high-therapy ones). Now, however, according to the details...
Portmanteau a PDPM parody
By
Steven Littlehale
Mar 15, 2019
Here’s how you use some humor to directly confront PDPM myths and nonsense, as well as suggest some authentic opportunities to provide and document better care.
Let’s talk turkey about early PDPM trends
By
Steven Littlehale
Nov 26, 2019
We’re not even two months in, and some very interesting trends for the Patient Driven Payment Model are beginning to emerge.