nursing homes news from FierceHealthcare
News
Rate of C. diff cases continues to climb outside hospitals
Findings presented at this year's American College of Gastroenterology annual meeting suggest that Clostridium difficile infections are becoming more common outside of hospitals, a grim development... Read more...
SPOTLIGHT: Facilities, not docs, often take the blame for misuse of drugs for nursing home patients
It's reasonable to think that doctors should be responsible for the psychotropic drugs they prescribe to nursing home patients. A lot of times, however, they have not been held accountable in... Read more...
Ill. nursing homes mix elderly with mentally ill, criminals
Yesterday, FierceHealthcare detailed the conclusions of a GAO report contending that the number of unsafe nursing homes in the U.S. could be four times higher than the number of homes CMS has... Read more...
GAO: Actual number of troubled nursing homes much higher than thought
In theory, CMS has a program in place that is supposed to find nursing homes whose living conditions aren't adequate. A new report from the Government Accountability Office, however, concludes that... Read more...
Nursing home industry is scaring residents, group says
In recent weeks, Humana sparked conflict with regulators when it sent out a letter outlining its position on health reform--and according to some, scaring seniors needlessly. Now, a Medicare advocacy... Read more...
NY tentatively votes to cut healthcare spending by $2.3B
The New York state legislature has voted to cut health care spending by as much as $2.3 billion, which is about $1.2 billion less than Gov. David Patterson's original recommendations. If the budget... Read more...
Mentally ill patients pose a threat to the elderly in nursing homes
According to new research released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, 124,977 mentally ill patients aged 22 to 64 are currently living in the nation's nursing homes, up 41 percent from 88,686... Read more...
Bill would restrict use of arbitration in nursing home disputes
Two Senators have introduced a bill that would prevent nursing homes from forcing residents to sign arbitration agreements prior to a legal dispute. Right now, it's not uncommon for nursing home... Read more...
Nursing homes concerned about new rating system
Shortly, CMS plans to release ratings for the nation's 16,000 nursing homes, rating them on a one- to five-star scale. While the hospital industry is well-used to this level of scrutiny, it's causing... Read more...
NY offers grants to help facilities restructure
Not too long ago, New York legislators created a firestorm when they approved a plan to restructure the state's healthcare industry by force. The state is still experiencing fallout from the plan,... Read more...
