With increased pressure to improve skilled nursing outcomes and advances in technology, telehealth providers have emerged as a key target of attention from operators and investors alike. But that investment won’t provide the intended returns if the workers at the building level don’t fully buy into an operator’s overall telemedicine strategy, according to a telehealth […]
Implicit in the government’s decision to allow Medicare Advantage plans to cover telehealth services with federal dollars is a question: Just because insurance plans legally can do it, will they? At least in the early going, multiple providers of telehealth tech to skilled nursing operators have said yes — and the promise of plan savings […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Wednesday announced an open challenge to tech providers, dangling $1 million for the algorithms that can best predict potential admissions to skilled nursing and other health facilities. With the Artificial Intelligence Health Outcomes Challenge, CMS hopes to entice tech firms and individuals to compete against each […]
A company that develops care coordination software similar to Slack has raised $2.5 million in a funding round aimed at expanding its reach to more hospitals and post-acute care facilities. Launched a little over a year ago, Olio aims to break down the barriers between hospitals and their post-acute partners by facilitating easy communication among […]
The developer of a software platform that has brought substantial hospital readmission cuts to skilled nursing facilities now has a $10 million cash influx to expand its footprint. Real Time Medical Systems raised that haul in a successful funding round involving multiple investors led by SunBridge Capital, Real Time founder and executive chairman Scott Rifkin […]
One senior living management company is looking to capitalize on voice technology in its skilled nursing settings to distinguish itself in the market — and to gain some efficiencies in an industry plagued by worker shortages. The Goodman Group, a senior housing and care development and management company headquartered in Chaska, Minn., manages communities with […]
A skilled nursing-focused telehealth provider with a presence in more than 200 facilities this week announced a $7.25 million funding influx. The Chicago-based Third Eye Health recently closed its Series A funding round, led by Generator Ventures, with plans to expand beyond its current base of skilled nursing partners. Third Eye provides remote physician coverage […]
As health care becomes increasingly data-driven, skilled nursing facilities have to find ways of gathering data on their patients — while working with tight budgets and dealing a workforce crunch. Technology providers, with services ranging from electronic medical records (EMR) to telehealth to remote monitoring, have stepped up to try to address the need. But […]
Adding specialized services could be a daunting task for skilled nursing providers coming off of a year of occupancy rate freefall, at least for most of 2018. But as they prepare for the new Medicare reimbursement system, the role of specialization in driving occupancy will only grow. That’s according to a webinar hosted Wednesday by […]
Seamless handoffs between nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities are an integral part of care coordination efforts under new payment models — and, in turn, financial success. But new study determines that even when providers have tools to ease patient handoffs, they find them hard to use to achieve their goals — or decline to […]
ResMed (NYSE: RMD, ASX: RMD) announced Monday that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire post-acute software provider MatrixCare for $750 million. “We were looking for another great addition to add a third leg, if you like, to the stool of our out-of-hospital software investments, and MatrixCare just came straight to the top,” ResMed CEO Mick […]
Zimmet Healthcare Services Group on Thursday launched an analytics platform specifically targeting financial and reimbursement professionals in the skilled nursing space. Providers’ data needs are only likely to grow with the implementation of the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) on October 1, 2019. “There’s going to be tremendous variation in nursing home Medicare expenditures [with PDPM], […]
In a skilled nursing landscape dominated by a shortage of workers on every level, a Newton, Mass.-based staffing company is trying to make adding temporary workers as easy as ride-hailing. ConnectRN was founded in 2014 by current CEO Michael Wood, Idriz Limaj, and Agron Ademi. The company uses mobile software to allow registered nurses (RNs), licensed […]
Go to any skilled nursing or senior living conference, and you’ll be greeted with a wide array of exciting new technologies with the potential for making residents’ and workers’ lives better. On the flashier end, there’s full-size exoskeletons that can help seniors walk again, or virtual-reality games that help users re-learn how to swallow and […]
Use of after-hours telemedicine in one New York skilled nursing facility reduced avoidable hospitalizations significantly, according to a case study published in the American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC). The study was led by Dr. David Chess, the founder, president, and chief medical officer of Tapestry Telehealth, a company focused on SNFs in rural communities. […]
Sabra Health Care REIT (Nasdaq: SBRA) last week announced a strategic partnership with health care data analytics firm PointRight, in a move the companies are describing as a more proactive approach to monitoring individual skilled nursing facility performance. Under the agreement, tenants of Sabra-owned nursing homes will be able to use PointRight’s data software for […]
Voice technology has promise in senior care, but skilled nursing providers and residents need to keep their expectations tempered, one expert says. When it comes to Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant, Elizabeth Mynatt, the executive director of Georgia Tech’s Institute for People and Technology, has a note of caution. “I think the Alexa is unproven,” Mynatt […]
Most of the talk surrounding the potential for consumer-grade gadgets in long-term care focuses on the lower-acuity world of assisted and independent living, where residents generally have more mobility and autonomy. But one skilled nursing provider says it’s seeing success with its fleet of Amazon Echo devices — both for residents and employees. The New […]
In an era of tight financial constraints for skilled nursing facilities, one owner-operator turned to a unique funding source to offset construction costs — and set up savings for the future. Premier Health Care Management, which owns and operates nine skilled nursing facilities with 961 beds in southwestern Ohio, is using the state’s Commercial Property […]
In the face of the changing payment landscape, skilled nursing providers can’t afford to put off data collection. In fact, there’s a lot of information gathering they must be doing now to adapt to value-based payments, Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI), the rise of Medicare Advantage (MA), and a host of other changes, Leah […]