CMS issues guidance on survey timing for facilities that change ownership
By
Tim Mullaney
Sep 10, 2013
Surveyors should prevent providers from being able to game the Medicare system through well-timed facility sales and purchases, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services instructed in a recent memorandum.
Expanded surveys will focus on staffing, MDS coding
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 04, 2014
Special surveys to determine Minimum Data Set coding accuracy and nursing home staffing levels will occur nationwide in 2015, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced in an Oct. 31 memorandum....
Special surveys on dementia care, Minimum Data Set coding will launch by mid-year, CMS announces
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 22, 2014
Surveyors will scrutinize dementia care and Minimum Data Set coding in an upcoming pilot program to test more expansive oversight of these areas, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently announced.
Survey practices around antipsychotic medications need to be updated, report says
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 11, 2013
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services should provide better surveyor training in understanding use of antipsychotic medications and reestablish a separate F-Tag for related deficiencies, according...
Sprinkler system citations now in effect
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 01, 2013
Nursing homes without a full sprinkler system installed and functioning are now subject to deficiency citations, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Survey: Nurses under dangerous stress
By
Tim Mullaney
Aug 01, 2014
A lack of necessary authority and problems with management are contributing to nurses’ high levels of stress, according to recently released survey results.
Resident assessments and care planning quality are threatened by nurses’ unrelated duties, survey...
By
Tim Mullaney
Jan 30, 2014
Filling out a comprehensive assessment for a nursing home resident takes five hours on average, and nurses’ workloads can make it difficult to carve out this time, according to survey results from...
Large nonprofit LTC providers have embraced electronic health records, information exchange lags, survey...
By
Tim Mullaney
Dec 09, 2013
The nation’s largest not-for-profit long-term care providers have implemented electronic health records, but there is still much room for growth when it comes to the sharing of digital data, according...
Senators press for SNF survey changes in light of adverse events report
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 07, 2014
The skilled nursing facility survey process is failing to ensure resident safety and needs to be improved, two prominent senators said in a recent letter to the head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid...
CMS clarifies compliance requirements, deadlines affected by government shutdown
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 29, 2013
Compliance deadlines, penalty timeframes and other survey and certification requirements for nursing facilities might be subject to adjustment due to the recent federal government shutdown, according to...