CMS prods hospitals to improve discharge info for SNFs, home health
By
James M. Berklan
Jun 07, 2023
Hospitals’ shortcomings in providing post-acute care providers with adequate discharge information prompted federal regulators to issue a special memo Tuesday.
Home health leads to higher costs after hip surgery, study finds
By
Rachael Zimlich
Feb 16, 2023
Home healthcare services provided after hospital discharge have, in general, been associated with reduced healthcare cost and utilization. A new study examining costs after hip replacement surgery hints...
Patients with dementia receive less home health, hospice at end of life
By
Diane Eastabrook
Feb 08, 2023
It is relatively difficult to identify when patients with dementia are within six months of death, a requirement to receive end-of-life hospice care, researchers report.
‘Unwitting’ senior living and care providers swept up in $114 million fake nursing degree scheme
By
Kimberly Bonvissuto
Jan 30, 2023
Skilled nursing facilities, an assisted living community and home health providers were among many businesses across the country duped into hiring more than 7,600 nurses with fake credentials, according...
Many older adults declined home health during pandemic, study finds
By
Diane Eastabrook
Jan 23, 2023
Fear of COVID-19 prompted many seniors to cancel medically necessary home healthcare during the pandemic, according to a new study by the University of Michigan.
OIG urges CMS to evaluate home health use of telehealth
By
Diane Eastabrook
Oct 21, 2022
The Office of Inspector General has urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to evaluate how the use of telehealth affected the quality of home healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Surgeon general rings alarm over healthcare worker burnout
By
Diane Eastabrook
May 26, 2022
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murphy has proposed an action plan to address what he called a crisis of burnout and mental health issues among healthcare providers.
Seniors’ early deaths jumped 17% from 2019 to 2020, new report finds
By
Diane Eastabrook
May 17, 2022
Early deaths among seniors increased 17% between 2019 and 2020, according to America’s Health Rankings Senior Report issued Monday by United Health Foundation.
LTC visitor data: Home health, hospice care held steady while family visits plummeted
By
Diane Eastabrook
May 04, 2022
An analysis of sign-ins at 6,000 SNFs and senior living facilities found that third-party care such as home health visits remained consistent during the pandemic, while family visits were curtailed.
Discharges to home health outpace those to SNFs in 2021, report finds
By
Diane Eastabrook
Apr 03, 2022
Post-acute care discharge instructions rebounded to pre-pandemic levels last year with home health agencies outperforming skilled nursing facilities.