Nursing home operators wasted little time Wednesday issuing rebuttals to the federal government's announcement that it would create and publish individual facility rankings on its Web site by the end of the year.

More than 30 communities around the country have applied to be a part of a new demonstration project that the Department of Health and Human Services hopes will nudge the nation towards electronic health records (EHR), according to a statement from HHS.

Because new Medicare reimbursement policies are focusing on quality of care at nursing homes, compliance officers will have a greater role in ensuring accurate documentation of care, one medical official said, according to a news report.

My administrator and board want my nursing staff to look at the number of nursing hours per resident and cut those hours. Is there any place where I could find out the average number of nurse hours per resident day in certified nursing facilities, and how many facilities are in each state?

How is the new Quality Indicator Survey process going to affect facilities?

We want to prepare our staff for the MDS 3.0. What tools can we use?

When should we start training our staff on the MDS 3.0?

The nation's top lawmakers are learning more about new monitoring, personal health record and brain fitness technologies for seniors during a special briefing and demonstration today.Senators from the Special Committee on Aging; the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; and the Medical Technology Caucus are hosting the event to discuss and explore what type of support is needed to promote technological advances that can help our nation's aging population.

The new Minimum Data Set 3.0 will increase clinical relevance, accuracy and clarity, and give residents a greater voice in data collection when it is implemented next year, experts announced.And providers will be able to complete the form in 45% less time on average.

Federal regulators released the final version of the MDS 3.0 on Thursday, a week before they will hold a special, informational Open Door Forum on it.