Post-acute care was the fastest growing major healthcare spending category for government programs between 1994-2009, according to recently released research. The results support large-scale bundled payments as a way to control costs, the researchers argued.
April 30, 2013
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed changing the way hospital readmission penalties are calculated as part of its 2014 Medicare rate update. Potential readmissions penalties for long-term care providers — such as those recently floated by the White House — would likely be based on the established CMS formula for hospitals.
The drug digoxin, also known as digitalis, may be an inexpensive way to cut the rehospitalization rate of heart failure patients by more than 30%, according to researchers.
Efforts to reduce the rehospitalization rate for older patients should not strictly focus on measures tied to particular diseases or diagnoses, researchers recently proposed.
January 24, 2013
If you might have had the notion that anxious long-term care providers have been taking the hubbub over rehospitalization rates a bit too seriously, a newly posted study shouts otherwise.
December 17, 2012
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States, primarily due to the effects of heart disease and stroke. The goal of this activity is to educate primary care clinicians on the evidence-based treatment of heart failure and provide guidance for commonly encountered clinical dilemmas.
Providers should consider social factors, such as race, gender and whether a person is a nursing home resident, when assessing readmission risk among pneumonia and heart failure patients, new research finds.
One-quarter of hospital admissions among Medicare beneficiaries are preventable, with the leading cause for those readmissions is heart failure, a Medicare advisory board report noted.
A pacemaker typically only used in advanced cases of heart failure could be an effective treatment in milder cases too, according to Swedish researchers.
The medication has shown promise in strengthening the heart, new research suggests.
Seniors with untreated obstructive sleep apnea have a higher risk for dying from a cardiovascular problem, according to a new Spanish study.
July 26, 2012
Comprehensive plans to prevent hospital readmissions for heart failure and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in U.S. hospitals are spotty at best, new research suggests.
July 05, 2012
It's well established that nursing home residents frequently struggle with conditions such as heart failure and depression. It's also true that critics of nursing home care are quick to blame these conditions on substandard care
While enrollment in hospice is soaring, nonwhite Medicare beneficiaries with heart failure are 20% less likely to use hospice, a new study finds.
June 25, 2012
Three Affordable Care Act initiatives often touted as coordinating care and improving outcomes for elderly adults could actually make their circumstances worse, a new study suggests.
An overnight breathing treatment called adaptive servo-ventilation (ASV) therapy was shown to be helpful in individuals with chronic heart failure, new research suggests.
An antibiotic frequently used to treat pneumonia and bronchitis is linked to a higher risk of sudden death in adults, particularly those with heart conditions, a new study reveals.
May 18, 2012
Socioeconomic differences and factors such as the availability of physicians have a bigger impact on readmission rates for heart failure than a provider's performance, a new study asserts.
Consultations with pharmacists, in collaboration with physicians in community-based settings, did not lower mortality and hospitalization rates of heart failure patients, new research finds.
Techniques such as screening for sepsis and a standardized discharge form have helped to lower the rate of rehospitalized nursing home patients in Florida.
The likelihood of being hospitalized for heart failure was roughly 30% less in 2008 than 1998, a new study revealed.
Heart failure patients who are Medicare or Medicaid beneficiaries — or who are uninsured — are less likely to receive essential treatments and tend to be hospitalized for longer periods of time than those who are privately insured, a new study finds.
Seniors who leave hospitals and are placed in transitional care programs are far less likely to be return, two new studies assert. The authors cite both health and cost benefits of these post-acute options.
Tai chi exercises might be able to help improve heart failure patients' quality of life, mood and confidence, new research finds.
Elderly heart failure patients who need skilled nursing care after discharge from the hospital face a higher risk of poor outcomes and even death, according to the American Heart Association.
First the good news: Medicare beneficiaries are experiencing shorter hospital stays and lower rates of in-hospital deaths after suffering heart failure. Now the not-so-good news: Out-of-hospital deaths and readmission rates are rising, according to a new study. Discharges to nursing homes also are increasing.
Roughly one out of every four seniors who experience heart failure wind up back in the hospital within 30 days, according to a new report.
