May is a time for change….weather change that is!  Good-bye cold weather and hello warmth and sunshine!  What a wonderful time of the year! Just like the season changes, we find ourselves in a constant state of change in healthcare. 

Skilled Nursing Facilities strive for quality of care, quality of life, helping residents return to the community and providing compassion for those who peacefully transition from this life.  While our jobs can be hard, caregivers would agree that the real excitement is

Every morning when I walk into my office, the first thing I do is say The Carmelina Pledge for Long Term Care.  I say it because I have a passion for the elderly. It’s that simple. There are times though

Since 2006, we have been sitting on pins and needles at the end of each year wondering if there will be another extension of the Medicare Part B exceptions process.  Did you notice that in December of 2014, it was

Relationships in healthcare are vital to the success of quality patient care.  Without strong working relationships, systems will break down and the ones who ultimately suffer are the resident.  MDS Coordinators are valuable to skilled nursing facilities and their input

Do you know what will be happening from January 1 through March 31st in 2015?  Since the RAC Manual Medical Reviews have resumed for those claims over the threshold, we will begin seeing RAC Manual Medical Reviews on a post-payment

We have another “go live” date for ICD-10—-OCTOBER 1, 2015!  Are you ready?  Of course you are!  We were all ready to go for the October 1, 2014 date, weren’t we? We will be transitioning from utilizing 14,000 codes (ICD-9)

Airports are a great location for observing how technology has integrated into our daily lives.  We watch people on their smart phones, tablets, laptop computers, and those who are walking around looking for an outlet with a look of absolute

MAC, RAC, MIC, CERT, ZPIC——–They ARE watching you!  Just because the RACs are on a “pause” doesn’t mean that you will be left alone. On the contrary, there are other entities watching you and they may not be looking at

The Medicare Program Integrity Manual, Pub 100-08 Transmittal 527 reflects a change request due to providers requesting to know what areas CMS contractors are currently reviewing. Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) and supplemental Medical Review Contractors (SMRCs) will be required, starting