Greater than 50% of the 1.5 million nursing home residents are incontinent costing us a whopping $5.2 billion a year.  Today, 15% of the nursing home’s budget is used to treat incontinence alone.

Now that The long-term care sector—like the health care industry overall—has begun to recognize the importance of collecting and using data to improve the quality and outcomes of care,  how can we get smarter at reducing these costly episodes?  How do we use technology to help?

Reducing incontinence is critical to resident well-being.  As such, it is one of the

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According to Kaiser, the nation’s hospitals are making little headway in reducing the frequency at which patients are readmitted despite a campaign by the government and the threat of financial penalties, according to Medicare data released in July.

Almost one in four hospital patients who are transferred to skilled nursing facilities are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days, according to a Health Affairs study. Many of these costly admissions are unnecessary. One expert panel concluded that 68 percent of 200 hospital admissions from nursing homes could have been avoided.

AccuNurse provides staff with two early detection approaches/alerts

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In final rules setting out Medicare reimbursement rates for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 (which starts October 1, 2011), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reduced reimbursement by $3.87 billion, or 11.1%

The financial impact of the regulation has the potential to cause the cancellation of approximately 400 facility expansions and renovations and the layoff direct service staff impacting the services provided to our seniors

Staffing accounts for more than two-thirds of a typical nursing facility’s expenses, so employment cutbacks would be a likely place for expense reductions. Such cutbacks

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Flu season came and went with barely a whimper, CDC says
The 2011-2012 flu season was more mild and peaked later than in previous years, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention reports.

CMS debuts antipsychotic drug reduction program
Federal officials unveiled a medication reduction initiative with an ambitious goal: trimming antipsychotic drug use among residents by 15% this year.

LeadingAge Partners With CMS to Improve Dementia Care
LeadingAge announced that they will represent not-for-profit nursing homes on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) new Partnership to Improve Dementia Care, an initiative to ensure appropriate

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Nursing home antipsychotic legislation set aside
The U.S. Senate did not approve legislation that would strengthen regulations for antipsychotic use in nursing homes, despite overwhelmingly passing a bill it was attached to on Thursday.

Lifestyle factors mean Southern providers have greater chance of treating stroke patients, researchers say
Death rates associated with strokes are declining, but lifestyle differences and socioeconomic forces are keeping people in Southern states more susceptible to strokes, researchers emphasize in newly released findings.

6 ways providers can meet patients’ needs with social media
What do patients want from social media

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AHA-supported bill to promote healthcare price transparency introduced
Last week, two U.S. Congressmen from Texas – Rep. Michael Burgess (R) and Gene Green (D) – introduced American Hospital Association (AHA)-supported legislation aimed at making healthcare more affordable by promoting healthcare price transparency.

Barking Up the Right Tree: Dogs and Dementia
Man’s best friend can be an invaluable tool for helping dementia patients.

Senate defeats amendment meant to speed up access to generic drugs
The Senate defeated an amendment Thursday that would prevent generic and brand-name drug companies from entering into agreements that stall access to generic drugs

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Which companies will benefit most if the medical device tax were repealed?
Analyst David Lewis of Morgan Stanley believes the companies that would enjoy the biggest reprieve are those that share these common characteristics – they have higher percentage of overall revenue derived from sales in the U.S. and lower operating margins.

5 innovative digital wellness companies to watch
Take growing adoption of smartphones and tablets among the general population, add it to anxiety about regulation in healthcare and an empowered patient population, and you get an explosion of consumer-focused digital health ventures.

Nursing home quality scores are on

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