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Nursing Home Oversight Reconsidered

Federal agencies are teaming up to improve oversight of nursing homes, a practice that now misses a third of the cases of substandard care, according to Kaiser Health News.

The March 3 Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General reportestimated one-third of nursing home residents “suffered harm” due to substandard care, and that nearly 60 percent of the incidents were preventable. However, current practices make it unlikely that inspectors would catch it, KHN says.

Officials say this report will influence new rules being developed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The Affordable Care Act requires that new policies be created to improve patient care, KHN says.

Originally founded in December 2006 as an independent grassroots publication dedicated to coverage of health issues in Florida, Health News Florida was acquired by WUSF Public Media in September 2012.