Greater than 25% of hospitalized Medicare patients are discharged to post-acute care facilities and yet one third of readmission from post-acute care facilities occur within the first week. Also, previous expert consensus indicates that early...
Alzheimer’s is the number one mental disorder diagnosed in the elderly with over 5.4 million people afflicted in 2016. According to Maplewood's records 43% of patients have dementia, 45% have depression and 21% have both. These two diagnoses have...
Antibiotic stewardship efforts are mandated in post-acute and long-term care (PA-LTC) settings secondary to high rates of inappropriate antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance. Urinary tract infections (UTI), respiratory tract infections (RTI),...
Polypharmacy, the inappropriate and excessive use of medications, is common in the PALTC setting. Polypharmacy contributes to adverse drug events (ADEs), manifesting as falls, cognitive decline, syncope, organ dysfunction, besides non-adherence,...
Polypharmacy can result in an increased risk of side effects and potential adverse events in long term care (LTC) residents. Recent research has emerged showing the benefits of removing unnecessary medications. New guidelines aim to identify which...
The 1987 Nursing Home (NH) Reform Act includes provisions for families of NH residents to hold private family council (FC) meetings within Medicare and Medicaid certified NH facilities. Literature on FCs including literature recommended by a local...
Due to cognitive impairment, multimorbidity, and fewer family connections, nursing home residents are at especially high risk for receiving medical care that is medically inappropriate or inconsistent with their wishes. Therefore, Advance Care...
Chronic pain affects at least 116 Million U.S. adults at an estimated cost of $650 billion annually in direct medical treatment and lost productivity. Approximately 25%-50% of community-dwelling older adults and 45%-80% of nursing home residents...
Telephone calls are the primary mode of nurse-physician communication in long term care facilities (LTCF). Staff turnover, lack of standardized protocols, and employee fatigue and multitasking could contribute to gaps in communication, leading to...
ACGME requirements for family medicine (FM) resident training include long-term care (LTC) education over a 24 month period. Many medical student and residents have little to no exposure with LTC patient care. Furthermore, there are many...
