April 10, 2013
It was welcome news Tuesday to learn that the confirmation hearing for the person who could officially wind up holding the purse strings for most nursing home payments was civil. Even better was the nominee saying she would look into the ridiculous state of affairs concerning hospital observation stays.
March 21, 2013
Encouraging residents to talk to animated agents could improve adherence to medication, reduce the need for restraints and lower rehospitalization rates. That's what Timothy Bickmore, Ph.D., said during his Wednesday webcast on the first day of the seventh annual McKnight's Online Expo.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently announced 20 new organizations participating in the Community-based Care Transitions Program (CCTP), which is an initiative to cut down on hospital readmissions by facilitating better patient transitions between acute and post-acute providers.
Increased coordination among acute and post-acute providers has reduced rehospitalization rates, signaling that healthcare reform is working, a senior Medicare official told the Senate Finance Committee on Feb. 28.
Long-term care providers should treat residents holistically, rather than narrowing in on an illness, to reduce rehospitalization rates, researchers recommended recently.
February 21, 2013
The penalties have been here for nearly half a year, but do long-term care providers really know what hospitals want in a post-acute partner in care? McKnight's is offering a free webcast so that providers can learn where they "need to be" with regard to avoiding hospital readmissions." The event, which starts at 2 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, Feb. 28, also will deliver strategies for how skilled nursing facilities can help prevent readmissions. Joe Ouslander, M.D., senior associate dean and geriatrics professor at Florida Atlantic University, will lead the presentation. McKnight's Editor James M. Berklan will moderate.
February 12, 2013
Hospital readmission rates for Medicare patients remained steady between 2008 and 2010, with variations between regions, according to a report released Monday.
Efforts to reduce the rehospitalization rate for older patients should not strictly focus on measures tied to particular diseases or diagnoses, researchers recently proposed.
October 30, 2012
For all the talk about reducing rehospitalizations, there seems to be a big element missing, according to the New York Times: that of talking.
September 19, 2012
To the owners and operators of skilled nursing facilities: If you don't think you and hospitals aren't much alike, think again. That seemed to be one of the strongest messages out of a focus group I recently took part in.
July 11, 2012
Some things I believe and some things I know. And I believe I know there is nothing more important for long-term care providers to do than getting better prepared for an intensified push to decrease rehospitalization rates.
June 18, 2012
Texas has received a windfall of federal funding to test care coordination programs between acute and long-term care providers.
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.
Three key factors can help determine which patients receiving inpatient rehabilitation following a stroke are at a higher risk for being readmitted to the hospital, a new study finds.
Seniors suffering from virtually any type of infection are more likely to be hospitalized for dangerous blood clots in their deep veins or lungs, a new study finds.
In order to survive an uncertain financial and regulatory environment, skilled nursing operators need to look at partnering with other healthcare systems and improving the quality of care, analysts say.
November 17, 2011
According to The Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care, the ACA tackles the issue of costly hospital readmissions by focusing on hospitals, but ignores skilled nursing facilities. The Alliance has therefore proposed an interim solution based on proposals the Obama administration has offered the "super committee."
Nursing homes have important tools at their disposal to help prevent rehospitalizations among their own residents, a leading advocate told McKnight's at last week's LeadingAge annual meeting.
Hospitals have made little progress in decreasing the volume of readmissions of individuals treated for acute and chronic illnesses according to a new report.
June 17, 2011
It seems the Hebrew Rehabilitation Center in Boston ought to be getting a lot more attention from its peers. The center has successfully implemented a multi-pronged approach to lower rehospitalizations.
The rate of rehospitalization of seniors within 30 days of discharge from a nursing home has surged in the last several years, to an estimated annual cost of more than $17 billion.
As the government strives to limit rehospitalizations, one nursing home and a couple of hospitals in New York City are staying ahead of the pack.
Social workers, not nurses, could be better suited at preventing rehospitalizations among the elderly. That is what a new Rush University Medical Center study seeks to prove.
