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Long-term care industry advocates pulled no pessimistic punches Wednesday when asked about likely outcomes facing rural operators if the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ https://www.mcknights.com/news/139187/ becomes a rule. But [...]

Scott Code has seen firsthand how digital technology can help support long-term care providers and keep seniors engaged. Tapped in November 2022 as vice president of LeadingAge’s Center for Aging [...]

The Food and Drug Administration in May approved the first drug to treat agitation related to Alzheimer’s disease dementia. Patient advocates hailed the news, but prescribing the drug, an antipsychotic, [...]

U.S. will allow drugmakers to discuss https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-issues-revised-guidance-medicare-drug-price-negotiation-2023-06-30/ … CIDRAP: CDC signs off on tweaks to https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/influenza-vaccines/cdc-signs-tweaks-flu-vaccine-recommendations … Healthcare groups fear https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/providers/healthcare-groups-fear-scotus-affirmative-action-ruling-will-harm-diversity-health-equity will harm diversity, health equity efforts … https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/eurheartj/ehad306/7190012?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false in [...]

Fills for prescriptions of high-risk medications (HRMs) are consistently lower among Medicare Advantage enrollees than among traditional Medicare beneficiaries, according to a new study. Investigators examined data on filled prescriptions [...]

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are a leading cause of disability among older adults. These injuries do not not simply have a one-time effect on the injured party, but result in [...]

Even the most confident of long-term care staff, sure of their knowledge and skills, reported “notable difficulties” providing palliative and end-of-life care during the COVID-19 pandemic, finds a new study [...]

CDC director Rochelle Walensky has greenlit the use of two new respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines for preventing severe disease in older adults, emphasizing their use in vulnerable groups such [...]

An experimental tuberculosis vaccine is set to be tested in a clinical trial of adults and adolescents. If successful, it would be the first new TB vaccine available since 1921. [...]

Amid early success, nursing home provider doubles https://www.mcknights.com/news/amid-early-success-provider-doubles-training-program-also-boosts-frontline-pay, boosts frontline pay … FDA declines to approve Regeneron’s higher-dose drug for https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-fda-declines-approve-regeneron-high-dose-eylea-2023-06-27/ … Study: Diabetes control better with https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2303208 versus daily [...]

Medicare Advantage — the private form of Medicare — has long been criticized for selectively enrolling healthier people to its managed care plans. But a new study that examined evidence [...]

For the first time, a stem cell replacement therapy has been found to be safe in a stage 1 clinical trial of patients living with Parkinson’s disease, drug developer BlueRock [...]

Bipartisan bill aims to https://www.mcknightshomecare.com/bipartisan-bill-aims-to-improve-nutrition-for-seniors-at-home/ at home … 3 in 5 healthcare workers now https://www.mcknightsseniorliving.com/home/news/business-daily-news/3-in-5-healthcare-workers-now-optimistic-about-future-study/: study … https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/27/business/pickleball-injuries-cost-health-care/index.html may cost Americans nearly $400 million this year … Op-Ed: Medicare undermining [...]

Federal health officials have published new guidance that provides clinicians with strategies for encouraging increased physical activity among senior patients. The Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday https://health.gov/our-work/nutrition-physical-activity/physical-activity-guidelines/current-guidelines/midcourse-report [...]

Two acute-care health systems have substantially improved their employee hand hygiene compliance using technology that pinpoints missed opportunities and improves accountability. That’s according to infection preventionists who presented their findings [...]

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has released more information on mandatory state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage of adult vaccines, originally announced last year. Beginning [...]

Excess mortality in the United States reached nearly 1.2 million during the first 2 years of the pandemic, https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adf9742 new estimates published Saturday in the journal Science Advances. The findings [...]

A reduced sense of smell has long been associated with dementia and mortality risk in older adults. A new study has found evidence that it may also be linked to [...]

Clinicians should screen adults with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), according to https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/46/Supplement_1/s49/148058/4-Comprehensive-Medical-Evaluation-and-Assessment to the American Diabetes Association’s Standards of Care in Diabetes — [...]

GAO chides CMS over https://www.mcknights.com/news/gao-chides-cms-over-delayed-nursing-home-reporting-antipsychotic-transparency/, antipsychotic transparency … Over 1.3 billion globally will have https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)01296-5/fulltext, study finds … Moderna requests FDA authorization for https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4063467-moderna-requests-fda-authorization-for-updated-covid-shot/ … https://www.journalofinfection.com/article/S0163-4453(23)00337-7/fulltext have only 44% success [...]

Contrary to prior research, the use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) to prevent gastric reflux is not associated with new dementia diagnoses in seniors, new evidence shows. The findings should [...]

The use of physical therapy following a fall-related injury significantly reduces the rate of serious new injuries, related opioid use and healthcare costs among falls-prone patients, a new study has [...]

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has released https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/cms-announces-new-details-plan-cover-new-alzheimers-drugs about patient data that clinicians will be required to provide to ensure Medicare coverage when prescribing Leqembi (lecanemab). The drug [...]

Reports blast HCA for https://www.mcknightshomecare.com/new-reports-blast-hca-for-misusing-hospice-to-boost-profits/ to boost profits … 72% of adults aged 50 to 75 receive https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7225a7.htm?s_cid=mm7225a7_x as advised: study … National https://www.mcknightsseniorliving.com/home/news/national-median-age-increases-again-census-bureau-data-reveal/(opens%20in%20a%20new%20tab) again, Census Bureau data reveal … [...]

Clinicians should keep a lookout for mental health symptoms related to long COVID, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Older adults may be at particularly high risk, [...]

A large subset of senior Medicare beneficiaries are living with debilitating chronic pain, and many either have trouble accessing care, or have decided to delay care, according to survey results [...]

People aged 60 years and older may receive either of two recently approved vaccines for preventing respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections, vaccine advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and [...]

With the correct supports in place, virtual review of transferred residents’ electronic medical records (EMRs) may help nursing home clinicians deliver continuity of care and effective interventions, according to a [...]

Nursing facilities in the United States must reevaluate their procedures for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) attempts, according to a medical director and author of https://www.jamda.com/article/S1525-8610(23)00107-X/fulltext#%20 published in JAMDA. Changes may be [...]

A significant portion of community-dwelling older adults with dementia display a pattern of repeated emergency department (ED) visits, according to a new https://agsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jgs.18457 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics [...]

The inclusion of race and ethnicity in clinical risk prediction algorithms has been subject to criticism, with studies showing negative effects in https://www.mcknights.com/news/clinical-news/prediction-tools-miscalculate-type-2-diabetes-risk-in-racial-groups-study-finds/, https://www.mcknights.com/news/clinical-news/adopt-new-test-and-take-race-out-of-kidney-disease-diagnostics-clinicians-urged/ and https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/racial-bias-found-in-a-major-health-care-risk-algorithm/, for example. But removing [...]

Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, about three-fourths of adults aged 50 years and older reported that their healthcare preferences either usually or always considered by their providers, [...]

Hip fracture prevalence is trending downward in countries and regions around the world, a new study has found. But the decreases will not compensate for the global impact of aging [...]

Vaccine advisers to the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-fda-panel-weigh-makeup-next-covid-vaccine-2023-06-15/ to recommend updating the COVID-19 bivalent booster vaccines to tackle the highly prevalent XBB omicron subvariant of SARS-CoV-2 in [...]

Older adults with hearing loss in both ears are half as likely to fall if they use hearing aids compared to their peers who do not use the devices, according [...]

The American Medical Association on Tuesday voted to adopt a policy that encourages clinicians to reduce their focus on body mass index (BMI) in health assessments, stating that the measurement [...]

Most senior health system execs say https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/providers/94-senior-health-system-executives-say-their-nursing-shortage-critical-poll-finds, poll finds … ‘Human challenge’ study details https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/245375/covid-19-human-challenge-study-reveals-more/ … Survey: Medicare Advantage plan leaders failing to invest in https://www.togetherseniorhealth.com/market-report-2023 … Some patients with [...]

Middle-aged and older adults who take part in volunteer work and recreational activities are more likely to remain healthy and less likely to develop physical, cognitive, mental or emotional problems, [...]

Lawmakers introduce legislation to make https://www.mcknightshomecare.com/lawmakers-introduce-legislation-to-make-pt-ot-telehealth-coverage-permanent/ permanent … https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/12/new-covid-vaccines-in-fall-need-to-target-xbb-variant-fda-staff-says.html should target XBB omicron variants this fall, FDA staff say … https://www.politico.com/news/2023/06/12/compromise-struck-to-preserve-obamacares-preventive-care-mandate-00101595 restored for now … Men and women with migraine [...]

Nursing homes with 50% or more Black residents have higher rates of emergency department visits and hospitalizations than facilities with no Black residents, likely due to lower rates of registered [...]

A high rate of hypoglycemia in long-term care facility residents with type 2 diabetes leaves room for better clinical management, researchers say. Hypoglycemia, or too little sugar in the bloodstream, [...]

Patients who die from cancer in states with palliative care laws are 12% to 18% more likely to die at home or in hospice, according to a new study. About [...]

Gentle cleansers are just as effective as harsh soaps at killing certain viral pathogens that are common targets in healthcare facility infection control, a new study has found. Uptick in [...]

COVID-19 cases fell across 81 nursing homes fitted with new air purification technology, highlighting the part air quality interventions can play in supporting infection control measures, a new study has [...]

Turning to https://www.mcknights.com/news/turning-to-substance-abuse-patients-to-fill-beds-proceed-with-caution-experts/ to fill beds? Proceed with caution, experts say … Senators introduce bill creating https://www.mcknightshomecare.com/senators-introduce-bill-creating-community-based-palliative-care-model model … https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/antimicrobial-stewardship/us-hospital-data-show-high-death-rate-candida-auris-infections kill one third of hospitalized, mostly older patients: analysis … [...]

Before making decisions about cardiac surgery, clinicians and older patients should weigh frailty’s effects on potential outcomes, using validated assessment tools, researchers say. There is substantial variation in the assessment [...]

The shorter the distance to the nearest hospital, the higher the number of potentially avoidable emergency department (ED) visits among assisted living community residents, a new study has found. The [...]

Nursing home hit with $150K fine after https://www.mcknights.com/news/nursing-home-hit-with-150k-fine-after-covid-positive-employee-returns-too-soon/ returns too soon … Pandemic or not, https://www.mcknights.com/news/pandemic-or-not-readmissions-still-plague-certain-snf-patients/ certain SNF patients … CMS’s https://innovation.cms.gov/innovation-models/making-care-primary aims at improving care coordination, health outcomes … [...]

Chronic poor sleep is a risk factor for contracting influenza and other respiratory infections, and contributes to severity, a large, new study has found. Investigators analyzed data for 600,000 participants [...]

On-site acute care in the nursing home did not result in any harm, and may have benefited long-stay residents, according to outcomes following a large-scale, multi-state initiative from the Centers [...]