John O'Connor

So I'm listening to the radio the other day when a friendly but serious voice starts in about about how putting a loved one in a nursing home is a gut-wrenching choice. It's all just a prelude to the kill shot: If you are dissatisfied or concerned about the care your loved one might be receiving, why don't you give his law firm a call? Lovely.

Five years ago, about a quarter of all nursing facility residents were receiving rehab care in concurrent therapy sessions. These days, almost none do. But it's not hard to see why this service option has essentially dried up.

On Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke delivered some tough-love testimony about rising healthcare costs and our shrinking Treasury. This would be very sobering news indeed — if an easy answer weren't right at our fingertips. All we have to do is start a war ... and fight it with retirees.

About a decade ago, Monster.com unveiled a brilliant ad campaign. The spots were black and white vignettes in which children talked about their aspirations. But these kids were already jaded.

Federal officials plan to spend more time this year examining how hospices market themselves to nursing homes, according to a 2012 work plan released by the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General.

Microsoft announced that it will partner with General Electric to form a new company that makes healthcare information more accessible. The partners said they hope to optimize the treatment that healthcare providers can offer patients while reducing costs.

Residents with wounds that won't heal also might have undiagnosed immune system problems such as rheumatoid arthritis, according to investigators at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington.

The Food & Drug Administration recently sent a "major deficiency letter" to Sanuwave. Federal regulators said the company's application for a noninvasive foot therapy to treat diabetic foot ulcers lacked important product safety information.

High expenses and poor internal collaboration often undermine provider efforts to implement new technology initiatives, according to a report from LeadingAge's Center for Aging Services Technologies.

As the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission and other groups seek to trim public funding for long-term care, the industry needs to mesh with new, strong partners. Such action is the only sure way to preserve margins while improving care, several experts recently noted.