In my last column, I discussed the elements necessary for the success of QAPI (quality assurance and performance improvement) and the importance of engaging all members of the health care team, particularly the direct-care workers. Now I want to...
PHOENIX — Conservative management and supportive care may offer elderly patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) the same survival as dialysis, as well as less functional decline, fewer hospitalizations, and better satisfaction with life, said...
Members of AMDA – the Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine, as well as other practitioners, were recently asked to participate in two job task surveys — one for medical directors, the other for attending physicians — to help shape the...
No matter how many times a physician or other practitioner has to break bad news to a patient or family member, it is never pleasant, and it never gets easier. However, instead of postponing these conversations or missing opportunities to address...
LOS ANGELES — Not long ago, the use of antipsychotics was common at one post-acute care facility near Los Angeles. Nearly 8% of the long-term residents were given these medications, often in a bid to control their behavior. This is a familiar tale...
SAN ANTONIO — Fatima Sheikh, MD, MPH, CMD, manages to balance her duties as the medical director for three nursing homes while teaching and mentoring geriatric fellows from Johns Hopkins, all within a 40-hour workweek, a schedule that leaves her...
The results of a study of nursing home residents with epilepsy showed that approximately two-thirds were taking at least one central nervous system (CNS) drug. Furthermore, the researchers found that a significant percentage of patients taking...
Antibiotics are the most common medication prescribed in post-acute and long-term care facilities, and suspected urinary tract infection is the most frequent indication for initiation of antibiotic therapy. However, there has been a growing...
Results from a large multicenter, cross-sectional study suggest that nearly half of nursing home residents receiving proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) were prescribed the drugs for “non-evidence-based indications.”
Person-centered care is a phrase that has emerged over the last quarter century in the United States. Despite the newness of the term, it represents values and a philosophy that are as old as humanity, even if not widely adhered to. Few...
