Online resource packed with regulatory news and expert guidance, tips & tools pertinent to professionals across the post-acute care continuum.
The Alzheimer’s Association has launched a pilot program to connect dementia care experts with assisted-living facilities (ALF). The program is modeled after ECHO, or Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes, a telemonitoring program that uses videoconferencing to share information. This pilot connects dementia care experts with leaders from ALFs. The program lasts six months and will […]
In two January 2017 reports filed by Government Accountability Office (GAO), the agency found that: CMS’ oversight of state payment structure regarding Medicaid funding was limited. Data collected from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) systems used to describe the distribution of and spending on Medicaid personal care services is limited due to […]
Sudden changes in mood, memory, personality, or behavior are not typical of a cognitive disease progression and may instead indicate the presence of something treatable. All too often, however, when a person has dementia, the care team is quick to blame the disease progression for every other thing that goes wrong. If a resident hits […]
After months of waiting, SNFs can now celebrate the passage of Rural Healthcare Connectivity Act of 2015.The bill passed the full Senate vote on June 7, 2016, which has been in the congressional pipeline since 2012. The measure will help rural SNFs gain funds for better technology, which will increase access to telemedicine and utilization […]
For patients with both diabetes and atrial fibrillation (AF), how long someone has had diabetes is a better predictor of stroke than glycemic control of that patient. Adding this metric to stroke risk models could provide more accurate stroke risk predictions. More than 2,000 patients enrolled in the Anticoagulation and Risk Factors in Atrial Fibrillation […]
The Pew Research Center has released a new report that confirms the decline in Americans age 85 or older living in nursing home or other group quarters. Researchers found that in 1990, 24% of this age group living in peer-living institutions such as nursing homes, and as of 2014, only 11% lived in similar facilities. […]
At first glance, a study showing a significant, long-term drop in dementia in the U.S. looks like good news. However, the results apply only to vascular dementia, not Alzheimer’s disease, researchers cautioned in the New England Journal of Medicine last week. Improvements in cardiovascular health and risk factor control have driven the decline in vascular […]
A new report from the Bipartisan Policy Center’s (BPC) Long-Term Care Initiative outlines the roles of Medicaid, private insurance, personal savings, and direct unpaid care provided by friend and family in long-term services and supports (LTSS), which includes home health care as well as skilled nursing facilities. The report states that the average annual cost […]
Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) may be struggling to form due to systems interoperability, according to a report from Premier, a healthcare performance improvement alliance and ehealth Initiative, a membership organization that provides services and activities to educate on the current environment, policies, trends and best practices in health IT. Of course, it’s worth mentioning that […]
Morning Consult conducted a poll by the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) that found that while more than 75% of those polled thought about retirement, only four in 10 thought they would need long-term care, reports Provider. The federal government estimates that in reality, about seven out of 10 seniors will need long-term care […]