The Five Star Report, once again, in the SNF spotlight
By
Steven Littlehale
Sep 24, 2014
The Five Star Quality Rating System takes the spotlight on the front page of the New York Times and the top of the news cycle, kicking off other publicity and political pressure. Regardless of any of the...
Payment reform: Ready! Set! Don’t go! No, I mean go!
By
Steven Littlehale
Apr 23, 2018
Perhaps you think that the new therapy-payment bombshell (RCS-1) has turned out to be a dud. I hope to make the point that it was not.
The importance of data accuracy
By
Steven Littlehale
Apr 10, 2013
Has a day gone by when you haven’t heard about a new healthcare reform requirement coming of age? This month skilled nursing facilities were supposed to have started having an operational compliance...
How will PBJ impact Five-Star staffing? Would you like one lump or two?
By
Steven Littlehale
Mar 30, 2018
We don’t know when, and we don’t know how, but when Payroll-Based Journal staffing data replaces the data currently being captured from CMS Form 671 for calculating Five-Star staffing, we are...
A natural evolution of the MDS coordinator: Nurse Informaticist
By
Steven Littlehale
Oct 27, 2017
Jennifer Gross, BSN, RN-BC, RAC-CT, fascinates me. Most recently, she completed a graduate certificate program in informatics, a subject that is playing a critical role in the explosion of health information...
Be thankful … for QAPI details?!
By
Steven Littlehale
Nov 25, 2015
t’s the time of year when we reflect and give thanks. With all the rapid changes in post-acute care, providers can be thankful for the Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement regulations detailed...
Sometimes a carrot is really a stick … but sometimes it’s 24-karat gold!
By
Steven Littlehale
Nov 27, 2017
We all yearn for a time when value-based purchasing (and care) loses its originality. A time when motivations for providing excellent care and achieving excellent resident outcomes are aligned with reimbursement.
Are narrow networks going to yield the best result?
By
Steven Littlehale
Jun 11, 2015
In the future, the skilled nursing facility of choice (by other provider partners) won’t be defined by a single metric but rather by a multifaceted scale that considers resident needs, strengths...
New models predict SNF hospital readmission rates
By
Steven Littlehale
Jan 21, 2015
If a skilled nursing facility were an overall Five Star performer, you would think that it would provide the best care and have the fewest rehospitalizations, right?
A tisket, a tasket … No LPNs in the RN basket
By
Steven Littlehale
Jul 20, 2015
Reporting direct care hours is nothing new, but the Affordable Care Act takes it to the next level with mandatory quarterly electronic submission of staffing and census data. This focus on staffing ratios...