Long-Term Care Survey Alert

Assess Whether Your Patients’ Hospitalizations Are  Avoidable

Your nursing home’s staffing, quality, and reimbursement affect avoidable hospitalizations. So says a recent study that revealed surprising data on long-stay nursing home residents.

An astounding three-fifths of hospitalizations of long-stay nursing home residents were potentially avoidable, according to a recent study, “Potentially Avoidable Hospitalizations for Elderly Long-Stay Residents in Nursing Homes,” published in the August issue of Medical Care.

The study aimed to figure out the relationship between clinical risk factors, facility characteristics and state policy variables, and both avoidable and unavoidable hospitalizations. Researchers studied a sample of long-stay nursing home residents in 10 percent of certified nursing homes in the United States.

Ultimately, the researchers discovered that the majority of hospitalizations in the sample group were avoidable and that most hospitalizations were for infections, injuries and congestive heart failure. The study identified renal disease, diabetes and a high number of medications among the clinical risk factors involved with the avoidable hospitalizations.

Resource: To access the study, go to journals.www.com/lww-medicalcare/Abstract/2013/08000/Potentially_Avoidable_Hospitalizations_for_Elderly.7.aspx.

Is Your SNF Part of the Antipsychotic Reduction Trend?

Antipsychotic use in nursing homes is decreasing. More than 30,000 fewer nursing home residents are receiving antipsychotic medications, according to new data released by the National Partnership to Improve Dementia Care in Nursing Homes.

Antipsychotic medication use in long-stay residents decreased from a high of 23.9 percent in late 2011 (shortly before the National Partnership was formed) down to 21.7 percent in the first quarter of 2013. “This 2.2-percentage point decrease represents a 9-percent reduction in the use of these drugs in long-stay residents,” reported Dan Andersen, research analyst in the Survey and Certification Group at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), in a July 10 MLN Connects National Provider Call.

There’s also been a continued decrease in each region since the beginning of 2012, Andersen said. The state averages are also impressive — 11 states have had “a reduction of 15 percent or more in the percentage of long-stay residents receiving an antipsychotic medication since the fourth quarter of 2011.” And 21 states have had a reduction of 10 percent or more.