Documentation Power Tools
25 years experience in long term care
Documentation Power Tools
25 years experience in long term care |
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LTCS Newsletter News Revised Surveyor Guidance for Assessment and Management of Pain is Coming Soon CMS recently released a draft for comment of revised Guidance to Surveyors of Long Term Care Facilities for tag F309 Quality of Care: Assessment and Management of Pain. The Guidance emphasizes screening each resident for pain on a periodic basis. LTCS recommends looking very closely at MDS sections J2 and J3, using standard pain scales, and documenting pain assessments and pain management effectiveness.
New Medicaid Law
May Cause Loss of Benefits for Many Americans
Beginning July 1, 2006, Medicaid recipients
must prove they are U.S. citizens by providing passports, birth
certificates, driver's licenses or other documents to authorities. As a
result of the new law--an effort to keep illegal immigrants from finding
their way onto the Medicaid rolls--consumer advocates warn that many
vulnerable Americans could lose or be denied Medicaid coverage. Update July 7: Certain Nursing Home Residents Exempt From Citizenship Documentation Requirement American Health Care Association Article
Depression Boosts Aggression in Demented ElderlyDepression triples the likelihood that a nursing home resident with dementia will be physically aggressive, a new study shows. Links Long Term Care Stats This Knowledge Digest site has great statistical data on numerous aspects of long term care. QIO Locator The American Health Quality Associations list of links for each state’s QIO. Your state QIO is a wealth of information on improving quality of care. News CMS Cautions Against Influencing Residents Toward Specific Medicare Part D Plans "Under no circumstances should a nursing home require, request, coach or steer any resident to select or change a plan for any reason," CMS noted in a letter to state survey agency directors. Nursing home workers should be especially careful about steering residents toward plans affiliated with pharmacies that have a Medicare Part D relationship with the facility, CMS said. Provision in Immigration Bill Will Remove Limit on Number of Nurses Who Can Immigrate The exodus of nurses from poor to rich countries has strained health systems in the developing world, which are already facing severe shortages of their own. New York Times ArticleOne Fourth of Older Patients Receive Catheters for no ReasonWomen, patients over 85, chronically ill, and frail patients are especially at risk. A study of 1,586 hospitalized patients age 70 and older at two Ohio hospitals indicates that 24 percent were given medically unnecessary urinary catheters, according to investigators led by a researcher at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.Eureka AlertPharmaceutical Industry Promotes New Definition of High Blood PressureThe new definition proposes assigning people with a blood pressure reading of 120/80 to 139/89 to a new category called Stage 1 hypertension.During the past few years the definitions of high cholesterol and obesity were also changed, and many health care professionals think these changes reflect efforts of the pharmaceutical industry to re-define illness to create greater numbers of prescription users. Full Article
Listening To Music Can Reduce Chronic Pain and Depression Listening to music can reduce chronic pain by up to 21 per cent and depression by up to 25 per cent, according to a paper in the latest UK-based Journal of Advanced Nursing. Links NPI Website The CMS deadline for providers to obtain the National Provider Identifier (NPI) is May 23, 2007. JCAHO Tips for Eliminating Dangerous Abbreviations
News New Research Findings On Retaining Long-Term Care WorkersKey findings from Better Jobs Better Care, a research and demonstration program, funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Atlantic Philanthropies. Its goal is to achieve changes in long-term care policy and practice that help to reduce high vacancy and turnover rates among direct care staff across the spectrum of long-term care settings and contribute to improved workforce quality.
Foreign Born Nurses Account for 40% of the Nursing Workforce in U.S. Can the Developed Countries' Demand for Caregivers Outstrip the Supply?Nurses make a vital contribution in delivering safe and effective health care. However, a serious shortage of nurses is emerging in several developed countries. AARP Special Report on the Nursing Shortage
NIH Wants Stronger Flu Shots for ElderlyThe National Institutes of Health wants to strengthen flu shots destined for the elderly, part of a push to get the nation to start treating influenza's yearly attack as seriously as the threat of some super-flu striking in the future. Links Nursing Home Culture Change Ideas - Ohio KePro Links Access an archive of change strategies for person-centered care in areas such as bathing, dining, death and dying, and sleeping/waking. Download ideas for recruiting and orienting employees, as well as how to provide employees with consistent assignments.
News New Activities Guidelines An advance copy of the Revised Activities Guidelines was released by CMS last week. The Guidelines call for many changes in Activities assessments, care plans, and interventions. Areas of focus are behavior problems, cognitive and communication impairments, and impaired mobility. Activities care plans are expected to address these areas even if the Activities RAP is not triggered. The revised guidelines become effective June 1, 2006. Advance Copy of Full Revised Activities Guidelines New Psychosocial Outcome Severity Guide Text is revised to add new language, the Psychosocial Outcome Severity Guide. This new guidance becomes effective June 1, 2006. The guide clarifies when to apply the "reasonable person concept", and provides criteria for determining levels of psychosocial outcomes that developed, continued or worsened because of a facility's noncompliance. Advance Copy of New Psychosocial Guide CMS Orders Changes for Unused Medications CMS has ordered state Medicaid programs to require nursing homes to return unused medications to pharmacies and to ensure Medicaid is repaid for unused treatments when nursing home patients die, are discharged or have their prescriptions changed, according to a March 22 letter, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Full ArticleLinks New Quality Assessment and Assurance Guidelines Hospital Bed System Dimensional and Assessment Guidance to Reduce Entrapment Document issued on: March 10, 2006
News Quality Assurance Programs and Pressure Ulcers Aggressive prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers is essential, since 13% of nursing home residents will develop a pressure ulcer in the next two years, according to an Ohio KePro article. Preventing and Treating Pressure Ulcers Nursing Shortage Keeps Demand for Nurses High A Huntington article gives the statistics and demographics of the nursing shortage and its effects on salary and care in different regions. Nursing Shortage Facts CDC Recommends Pertussis Vaccination for Health Care Workers The number of Pertussis cases expanded to nearly 26,000 in 2004, more than double the total in 2003. Links Assessment and Management of Chronic Pain MDS OBRA Assessment Scheduling Tool for 2006 Articles CMS Website Changes Recently CMS made numerous changes to their website. This will cause many older CMS links to be invalid. For links to their new pages on MDS, PPS, Manuals, and Survey and Certification, check the link sections on the LTCS website pages for MDS and D.O.N. MDS Links DON Links RAI Manual Update, December, 2005 Long Term Care Facility Resident Assessment Instrument revisions were recently published. The changes center on the expanded RUG-53 groups.
News Nurses Report Problems with New Prescription Drug Plan A recent New York Times article reported nursing home complaints about initiating the new Medicare prescription drug plans. Problems cited are residents not assigned to any plan and random assignment of residents to plans that do not cover all of their medications. The fallback coverage for those not properly assigned requires a 14-step application process. Articles Links MDS OBRA Assessment Scheduling Tool for 2006 CMS Website Changes Recently CMS made numerous changes to their website. This will cause many older CMS links to be invalid. For links to their new pages on MDS, PPS, Manuals, and Survey and Certification, check the link sections on the LTCS website MDS Links DON Links RAI Manual Update, December, 2005 Long Term Care Facility Resident Assessment Instrument revisions were recently published. The changes center on the expanded RUG-53 groups.
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