A new CMS proposal includes bundled payment models for cardiac care and an extension of the existing bundle for hip joint replacements to include hip and femur fractures.

Occupancy rates in long term care facilities are dropping, and managed care rates are falling, even as the number of managed care residents is growing in skilled nursing care centers. Federal reimbursement programs are moving away from fee-for-service to value-based payments. Regulations, codified to improve safety or other aspects of quality, are typically expensive for long term care providers to implement, and come at a time when providers are continuing to be forced to cut costs.

It’s an exciting time to be involved in research because there is now the opportunity to combine traditional clinical effectiveness research with patient-centered outcomes research.

As the U.S. population ages, health providers and administrators in assisted living, skilled nursing, and post-acute care centers will need actionable strategies in place to manage the pain, stiffness, and limitations of activity caused by arthritis.

Fortunately, today a movement begun in 2012 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and health care groups representing the long term/post-acute care profession has made significant progress in reducing the use of antipsychotics as a first-line treatment for managing residents diagnosed with dementia. But there is still a long way to go.

Long term and post-acute care community members took to Twitter last night to share some thoughts on President Obama’s final State of the Union address.

Researchers are honing in on what creates one of many troubling symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease: psychosis. In a recent Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease article, Canadian psychiatrist Corinne Fischer at St. Michael’s Hospital and her team report that poor blood circulation caused by cerebrovascular disease and abnormal protein deposits called Lewy bodies may be the culprits.

Be careful what you think: The right attitude may help you avoid Alzheimer’s disease, according to two recently published studies.

Caregiving is a 24/7/365 job. To stay on top of everything, many caregivers—personal and professional—are turning to apps on their smartphones.

Always on the move, Bill Thomas, MD, is a man with a mission: to challenge conventional views on aging. Provider recently caught up with Thomas at a sit-down discussion with students from The Erickson School at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.