Timeline a Win, But RN Provision Draws Ire as Nursing Home Industry Reacts to CMS’ Staffing Proposal

Mixed reactions to the nursing home minimum staffing mandate continued to roll in over the weekend – along with an editorial from President Joe Biden – following a first glimpse of the proposal on Friday. As the president underlined the need for more staff to improve quality, the 24/7 provision for registered nurses (RNs) continued […]

Nursing Homes Ask for Visitation Flexibility as Omicron Rages

Aging services organizations are now urging the Biden administration to provide flexibility in limiting visitation within nursing homes, citing expected surges in COVID-19 cases tied to the omicron variant. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in November issued guidance allowing visitation for “all residents at all times.” While visitors should be made aware […]

New CMS Waivers Eliminate ‘All Barriers’ to Telehealth in Skilled Nursing Facilities

As part of a sweeping set of waivers announced late Monday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expanded its efforts to cut restrictions on telehealth — essentially removing any last roadblock that providers would face to offering virtual interventions at nursing homes. By allowing providers to perform initial and discharge services remotely, and […]

Rethink Podcast #24: Arif Nazir of Signature HealthCARE and AMDA

The 24th episode of our podcast, Rethink, is now available! As both the chief medical officer for Signature HealthCARE and president of AMDA, the Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine, Dr. Arif Nazir has a micro- and macro-level view on how skilled nursing facilities are fighting the novel coronavirus. Dr. Nazir sat down with […]

Signature’s Chief Medical Officer: COVID-19 Crisis Will Usher in ‘New Era’ of Skilled Nursing, Post-Acute Care

As both the chief medical officer for Signature HealthCARE and president of AMDA, the Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine, Dr. Arif Nazir has a micro- and macro-level view on how skilled nursing facilities are fighting the coronavirus. And even in these early days of the crisis, Nazir believes that the sweeping emergency steps […]

On-Site Ombudsmen Lead to More Skilled Nursing Deficiencies on Surveys

When an ombudsman remains on site during post-acute and long-term care facility surveys, the building’s quality scores may be negatively affected, according to a study in published this week in JAMDA, journal of AMDA — The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Researchers determined that ombudsmen may direct assessors to more attention to on-site […]

Cheat Sheets and Timely Visits: How SNFs Can Support Doctors’ Larger PDPM Role

Timely physician visits will play a central role in effectively capturing resident conditions — and reimbursements — under the new Medicare payment model. But with doctors seeing relatively few incentive changes amid the shift to the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM), skilled nursing operators must find ways to make physician collaboration as easy as possible. Medical […]