Providers wary of waiver
Less than half of healthcare providers eligible to use the three-day hospital stay waiver available through the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative actually use it, a recent report shows.
Print Issue: December 01, 2017
Ask the Nursing Expert about … the Facility-Wide Assessment
My administrator has asked me to lead the effort to prepare our Facility-Wide Assessment (FWA). What does this mean for me, as the director of nursing?
Readmissions project brings 17% drop in hospitalizations
A Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services program created to reduce hospital readmissions among nursing home residents has shown positive results after three years, the agency announced.
Vitas agrees to record-setting settlement
The nation’s largest for-profit hospice provider and its parent company will pay $75 million to settle allegations that it submitted false Medicare claims for hospice services, according to federal authorities.
Nurses lacking ulcer awareness: study
Nurses need more training on medical device-related pressure ulcers, according to a prospective study published in Ostomy Wound Management.
Ask the Payment Expert about … the new survey process
How should our facility prepare for the new survey process?
Numerous states take large opioid distributors to court
While long-term care continues to struggle between providing opioids for residents in pain and the ramifications from a national epidemic of overdoses, multiple attorneys general are now asking the courts to decide whether the pharmaceutical companies who marketed the drugs and downplayed their addictive nature should be held responsible for the consequences of the crisis.
Blood pressure drugs could double as topical wound fix
A topical gel made from common blood pressure pills has been proven to speed the healing of chronic skin wounds in mice and pigs.
New OT pay threshold search underway
Although the Trump administration didn’t like its predecessor’s new threshold for determining overtime pay eligibility, it apparently is taking steps to raise the cut off point.
Ask the Legal Expert about … arbitration agreements
There has been so much in the news about arbitration agreements over the past year. Are we in the clear and can we use them again?
