What happens when delegation without accountability takes place? We saw a good example last week, when the Office of Inspector General released a damning report about excessive Medicare charges from nursing...
Medication adherence strategies for lowering hospital readmission rates
By
Bill Shields
Nov 15, 2012
Nearly one in five Medicare patients return to the hospital within a month of discharge, costing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) an extra $17.5 billion in 2010. Multi-medication packaging...
Nursing homes’ steep climb to public trust
By
Elizabeth Newman
Nov 13, 2012
I’ll let you in on a secret: Most of the time, the long-term care business press is, if not always on your side, at least sympathetic to your plight.
Caregiving in the ER – Part 2
By
Bob Bua and Charlotte S. Yeh, M.D.
Nov 07, 2012
Family caregivers and family members needing emergency care are growing in number, and their combined impact is becoming evident to long term care professionals. Here are tips to help them in their time...
Ready Set: QAPI!
By
Steven Littlehale
Nov 05, 2012
Nursing facilities must submit written QAPI plans to CMS one year after promulgation of the regulation. This regulation will be in addition to current QAA standards.
Executive summary: Change isn’t coming … It’s here
By
John O'Connor
Oct 29, 2012
I recently had the good fortune of interviewing three of the industry’s top association executives. If their collective advice could be distilled to a bumper sticker-sized message, here’s how...
The Manual Medical Review mess
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
Oct 29, 2012
What a mess — and that’s probably an understatement! Medicare Part B decided to roll out its new manual medical review process by dividing providers into three phases. If you are unfortunate to...
Caregiving in the ER – Part 1
By
Bob Bua and Charlotte S. Yeh
Oct 23, 2012
America’s emergency rooms are full of families going through crisis situations. When an accident or illness requires a visit to the ER, many families are likely to enter the scene overwhelmed and...
A Medicaid conundrum
By
Stuart H. Shapiro, M.D.
Oct 03, 2012
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling on health care reform brings to mind Apollo 13 astronaut John Swigert’s understated line: “Houston, we have a problem.”
With new rules, more payment denials expected
By
Shelly Mesure, MS, OTR/L
Oct 02, 2012
Here it comes again! The Oct 1, 2012, federal regulatory changes will not only impact reimbursement but new reporting requirements also will multiply denials for skilled nursing providers across the country.