Resident hospital transfer forms: The 5 most useful pieces of information
By
Alicia Lasek
May 12, 2021
The creators of a new automated hospital transfer form say they have identified the five must-have pieces of information needed to reduce clinical complications when nursing home residents are brought...
Feds ramp up nursing home sanctions for poor care performance
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 24, 2022
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will more aggressively enforce accountability in its Special Focus Facilities (SFF) Program, the Biden Administration said Friday.
Clinical briefs for Wednesday, March 9
By
Alicia Lasek
Mar 09, 2022
AHCA requests sit-down with Biden and top officials on nursing home reform plans … CDC director says COVID-19 will ‘probably’ become seasonal … Despite FDA efforts, fewer than 20% of drugs have...
CMS to begin audits for schizophrenia coding, says citations will affect quality ratings
By
Alicia Lasek
Jan 19, 2023
The agency will start auditing nursing homes this month to determine whether residents’ schizophrenia diagnoses are accurate and appropriately coded. A pattern of inaccurate coding may result in a quality...
FDA greenlights first home COVID test with traditional premarket review
By
Alicia Lasek
Jun 07, 2023
The Cue COVID-19 Molecular Test is the first at-home COVID-19 test to be granted marketing authorization outside of emergency use authorities, representing a new era of consumer access to diagnostic tests,...
OIG: Older Medicare recipients often harmed during hospital stays
May 13, 2022
Fully 25% of older American Medicare beneficiaries are at high risk of being harmed during acute care stays, according to the HHS Office of the Inspector General.
GAO: Federal falls programs overlook disabled seniors and should share more data
By
Alicia Lasek (f3)
Jul 29, 2022
Targeting a larger, more inclusive group of at-risk seniors will help prevent even more falls and their costly consequences, the GAO finds.
AMDA calls for public list of nursing home industry’s ‘underutilized’ and ‘invisible’ medical...
By
Alicia Lasek
Mar 07, 2022
President Biden’s call for nursing home reform must extend to the industry’s clinical leadership as well, a top clinician advocate contends. A public directory would be a step toward transparency...
How QIOs, strike teams helped in COVID-19 trenches with majority of nursing homes
By
Kimberly Marselas
Mar 04, 2021
Federal strike teams and quality improvement contractors, acting in expanded roles, helped reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection by guiding interventions at more than half of all U.S. nursing homes, said...
Diagnostic stewardship may reduce unnecessary antibiotics use, study finds
By
Alicia Lasek
Oct 26, 2022
Diagnostic stewardship — making sure patients receive the right tests at the right time — appears to work even better than antibiotic stewardship to halt unnecessary treatment for asymptomatic UTIs,...