It’s the time of year that facilities are seeing residents, staff, and others with respiratory viruses such as COVID-19, flu, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). In a recent special PALTtalk podcast, host Ghinwa Dumyati, MD, professor of medicine and director of the Communicable Diseases Surveillance an...
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued its final rule for the Calendar Year (CY) 2025 Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS), which includes updates to Medicare payment policies and rates for Home Health Agencies (HHAs). Among the key changes, CMS is finalizing a new dat...
Medicare pays for vaccines administered during a patient’s stay in a nursing home. Vaccine payment depends on the type of vaccine and whether the patient is using their Skilled Nursing Facility Part A benefit. Learn how to bill for a number of vaccines
During a recent JAMDA On-The-Go podcast, Jonathan L. Temte, MD, PhD—lead author of an insightful study on the rapid detection of influenza outbreaks in the December issue of JAMDA—talked about the power of prompt action and teamwork. Other articles discussed focused on balance, evaluation of cognitive asse...
To assess whether the use of rapid influenza diagnostic tests (RIDTs) for long-term care facility (LTCF) residents with acute respiratory infection is associated with increased antiviral use and decreased health care utilization.
This study aimed to analyze national influenza infection control policy documents within aged care settings by identifying the consistencies, inconsistencies, and gaps with the current evidence and by evaluating methodological quality. Aged care providers can use these findings to identify their policy doc...
Quantify the relationship between increasing influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) community viral activity and cardiorespiratory rehospitalizations among older adults discharged to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs).