GAO Releases Report on Poor Perfoming Nursing Homes

In 1998, CMS created the Special Focus Facility initiative or program designed to target or focus attention on improving the poorest performing facilities (performance defined by survey/compliance history).  Each state selects up to 15 of the poorest performing facilities until the program reaches its cap or maximum of 136 facilities.  The requirements from CMS to … Read more

Hospice Contract Reminders for SNFs

On a fairly routine basis, I run across SNF Administrators and Directors of Nursing that continue to have issues with hospice patients in their facilities but not from the standpoint of the patient typically; from the standpoint of dealing with the Hospice and the terms of the contract between the Hospice and the SNF.  In … Read more

Getting Risks Under Control: Improving Organizational Prosperity

Healthcare is a risky business; particularly in heavily regulated environments such as nursing homes and home health and hospice.  The fact that a certain level of risk is omnipresent means that the opportunity constantly exists for an organization that improperly identifies and manages its risks, to suffer expensive damages ranging from financial loss to loss … Read more

Duties of Boards: An OIG Perspective

This seemed to be a natural successor topic to my last post, “Why Quality Matters”; principally arising out of recent press releases from the OIG.  For example, in June the OIG reported that it had recovered $2.4 Billion in fraud, waste and abuse.  In July, an OIG release reported that a Nursing Home Executive was banned … Read more

Why Quality Matters

In the past month or so I have had a lot of conversations with various entities ranging from providers to investors about the financial state of the industry.  The majority of the discussions have been around all things financial – reimbursement in particular and as this topic goes, so goes expenses.  Understandably the economic and … Read more