It’s that time of year again when the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Editorial Panel meets with the task of ensuring its codes remain up to date.
The coming crackdown: COVID-19 and beyond
By
Karen Christian
Matthew Hittle
Apr 21, 2021
For more than a year, America’s nursing homes have been besieged by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has tragically claimed the lives of more than 130,000 residents and 1,600 staff. While America’s nursing...
Is the doctor in? Improve nursing homes with one easy stroke
By
Kenneth Lehmann
Apr 14, 2021
Many nursing home COVID-19 patients would have benefitted from daily, reimbursed-for physician visits in their skilled nursing facilities, but they were not entitled to them. With an epic crisis...
Want the media to work with you? Then work with them … the right way
By
Pam Selker Rak
Apr 12, 2021
As a marketing and public relations expert and educator in the healthcare industry for more decades than I care to admit, I’ve been struck by the “she said, he said” between the New York Times’...
Sleep like your life depends on it
By
Gary Tetz
Apr 01, 2021
One thing I’ve learned in my mostly unsuccessful lifelong quest to get enough sleep is that nothing helps more than feeling under pressure to do so. So learning in McKnight’s that extra sleep reduced...
Lord of the Rings
By
Gary Tetz
Mar 04, 2021
After mocking wearers of Apple watches not so long ago, citing an annoying interaction that took place in a nursing home lobby, I finally got one myself. I realize this makes me a hypocrite, and I’m...
Improve early illness recognition with two simple tools
By
Maryann R. Coletti
Shari Kist
Feb 01, 2021
Early illness recognition is central to managing resident condition change and reducing potentially avoidable hospitalizations. Every staff member, provider and family play a role in identifying when a...
What 2021 has in store on the legal front
By
Neville M. Bilimoria
Jan 20, 2021
Everyone has been celebrating that 2020 is over, and who can blame them? Yet, I can’t help think the legal issues facing long term care in 2020 won’t necessarily go away in 2021. Some of the lingering...
Dear Santa, I wasn’t asking for a pandemic…
By
Martie Moore
Dec 16, 2020
Dear Santa, Last year, I started my letter to you by asking for one more moment with my mother. I asked you for the moment to be like it used to be. Little did I know, when I wrote those words, that I...
Bridging the COVID gap: Using technology to connect dementia families
By
Whitney Hackman
Dec 07, 2020
When a loved one is living with dementia, meaningful connections can be hard to come by on a good day. Physical touch and direct eye contact are often key components of creating a successful interaction...