CMS: Nurse shortage means hospices can keep using contracted workers
By
Tim Mullaney
Oct 08, 2014
Hospices can continue to rely on contract nurses because an ongoing nurse shortage is preventing providers from meeting their staffing needs, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced in a...
Most long-term care workers think relatives of dying residents ‘interfere,’ survey shows
By
Tim Mullaney
Jan 27, 2014
Relatives of dying residents make end-of-life care worse, according to a majority of long-term care professionals.
Advance directives reach record levels, but this does not lead to more hospice use, researchers find
By
Tim Mullaney
Apr 03, 2014
Seniors are completing advance directives in record numbers, but this is not having the expected effect of shifting people from hospitals to hospices in their last days, say researchers from the University...
Hospice is growing fastest in skilled nursing facilities, new report shows
By
Tim Mullaney
Nov 05, 2014
Hospice services increased in nursing homes more than in any other care setting last year, according to the latest annual report from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently finalized 2014 Medicare rate updates for hospices and inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and also laid out quality metrics. Hospices will receive...
CMS updates coding instructions for hospice site of service, principal diagnosis
By
Tim Mullaney
Sep 02, 2014
A new Medicare hospice manual update includes instructions for which principal diagnosis codes are acceptable, and clarifies which codes should be used for services in a skilled versus non-skilled nursing...
CMS revises hospice rules
By
Tim Mullaney
Aug 02, 2013
A long-term care provider and its hospice partner will need to draw up a detailed contract, according to a final rule released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and published in the Federal...
Nursing homes trail hospitals in quality improvement, AHRQ report shows
By
Tim Mullaney
May 19, 2014
About 60% of nursing home quality measures have been showing significant year-to-year improvement, but hospitals have been improving more quickly, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.