If patient telemonitoring seems like futuristic speculation or science fiction, when it comes to addressing the needs of long-term care residents, it’s not. The largest and widest-scale deployment of any such technology is currently under way in five states – and it’s being done among seniors living in assisted living facilities or at home.

LivingWell@Home... »

By Debra J. Lipson

Since the early 1980s, federal and state governments have been striving to reform the long-term care system to give older adults and people with disabilities more choice about where they live and receive services and support. Progress toward this goal accelerated after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1999 Olmstead ruling, establishing the right... »

By Robyn I. Stone, DrPH

According to the Census Bureau’s 2009 American Housing Survey, 1.9 million elderly people live in publicly assisted housing. That’s more older adults than live in nursing homes.

Dr. Stone

Most are low-income single women in their mid-70s to early 80s. Findings from a range of studies indicate that significant numbers of these... »

BY RICHARD O. SCHAMP, MD, CMD

Mrs. Bloomer, 78, is in the hospital 2 days after her hip-fracture repair. Fully attentive, she listens as her doctor – let’s call him Dr. Dan – tells her of the plan to transfer her to a skilled nursing facility for her rehabilitation.

"Don’t worry," Dr. Dan says. "You’ll be able to visit your friends at the... »

By Sam W. Downing, MD, CMD

Flexibility is the key to my life as the medical director for Good Samaritan Society’s home health and hospice in Prescott, Ariz. Adjusting to acute patient needs, case-manager urgencies, and new admissions feels a bit like triaging in an emergency room at times, but it also is what provides me with daily excitement and... »

 By David Kyllo

Does the following sound like a portrait of the American nursing home population? The average age of an incoming resident is 85 years. He or she typically has hypertension, arthritis, coronary heart disease, osteoporosis, depression, bladder incontinence, or a combination of several of these conditions. Nearly 40% have a diagnosis of... »

By Majd Alwan, PhD

Early in 2009, President Obama signed the economic stimulus package called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Within that law was the HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health) act, which codified the government's push for a national health information technology infrastructure and the effective... »