Telligen Featured in QIO Progress Report
CMS’ Annual Report Highlights QIN-QIOs’ contributions to national health quality improvement for Medicare beneficiaries Telligen, the Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) for Colorado, Illinois and Iowa, is featured in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS’) newly released 2017 QIO Program Progress Report. Telligen is one of 14 QIN-QIOs that contributed to the …

Advisors Sought for New Telligen Patient and Family Advisory Council
Telligen is searching for volunteer advisors from Colorado, Illinois and Iowa to join a new regional Patient and Family Advisory Council. Telligen works with healthcare providers and patients to help all people with Medicare live healthier lives. Telligen seeks advisors from a variety of backgrounds who are eager to bring positive change to the healthcare system …
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CMS Announces New Guidance for Safe Visitation in Nursing Homes During COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
October 13, 2020
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued revised guidance providing detailed recommendations on ways nursing homes can safely facilitate visitation during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. After several months of visitor restrictions designed to slow the spread of COVID-19, CMS recognizes that physical separation from family and other loved ones has taken …
CMS Care Compare Empowers Patients when Making Important Health Care Decisions
September 4, 2020
Improved tool makes it easier for patients to find important information when shopping for health care services Under the leadership of President Trump, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched Care Compare, a streamlined redesign of eight existing CMS healthcare compare tools available on Medicare.gov. Care Compare provides a single user-friendly interface that …
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Trump Administration Strengthens COVID-19 Surveillance with New Reporting and Testing Requirements for Nursing Homes, Other Providers
August 25, 2020
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced sweeping regulatory changes that require nursing homes to test staff and offer testing to residents for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Laboratories and nursing homes using point-of-care testing devices will be required to report diagnostic test results as required by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act …
CMS Announces Resumption of Routine Inspections of All Provider and Suppliers, Issues Updated Enforcement Guidance to States, and Posts Toolkit to Assist Nursing Homes
August 17, 2020
Guidance outlines recommendations to state agencies on Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of survey activities The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it will resume routine inspections of all Medicare and Medicaid certified providers and suppliers to improve the safety and quality of life of patients and residents. CMS had previously suspended certain routine …
AMA: Opioid Task Force 2020 Progress Report
July 27, 2020
Read the Opioid Task Force 2020 Progress Report to find physicians’ progress toward ending the nation’s drug overdose and death epidemic.
How to Prescribe Controlled Substances to Patients During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
July 14, 2020
This simplified decision tree from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) guides prescribers through patient evaluations and prescription delivery during COVID-19. These policies will remain in effect for the duration of the public health emergency, unless the DEA specifies an earlier date. Read more
Medicare Data: People with ESRD Most Likely to be Hospitalized with COVID-19
July 14, 2020
A Medicare claims analysis found that from January 1 to May 16, 2020, more than 325,000 people with Medicare were diagnosed with COVID-19, and nearly 110,000 were hospitalized. People with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) had a hospitalization rate of 1,341 per 100,000, or nearly three times higher than the rates for low-income beneficiaries and blacks. …
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Failure to Follow Medication Changes Made at Hospital Discharge Associated with Adverse Events in 30 Days
July 14, 2020
A myriad of medication changes occur during inpatient care. Among nearly 2,700 patients in a study published in Health Services Research, who had a mean age of 69.5 years, almost half of them did not follow some or all changes made to their medications at hospital discharge. Patients who did not adhere to any medication …
For Some Long Term Care Physicians, Urinalysis Results Trump Other Prescribing Guidelines
July 14, 2020
Some physicians who treat nursing home residents are basing their decisions to prescribe antibiotics for suspected urinary tract infections (UTIs) primarily on urinalysis results, which are an unreliable indicator, according to an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)-funded study published in the Journal of the American Medical Directors’ Association. In surveys administered to 876 …