The Quality Digest: April 2025
PharMerica
Comprehensive pharmacy management for long-term care settings. Providing value beyond medication.
Did You Know? Unit-of-Use Product Guide
This guide provides an abridged summary of product information for certain medications — including insulin vials and pens, inhalers, eye drops, ear drops, and nasal sprays — with specific handling instructions. Select information may include product appearance, storage requirements, discard instructions, priming instructions, and care and cleaning guidance.
April is Parkinson's Awareness Month
Parkinson's Disease is a progressive neurologic movement disorder that affects about a million Americans, including more than 5% of long-term care residents. In recognition of Parkinson's Awareness Month, this Q&A highlights the causes, symptoms, and treatments for both the movement symptoms and non-motor symptoms associated with Parkinson’s Disease Psychosis.
Care partners of those with Parkinson's and related disorders average more than 46 hours per week caring for their loved ones, which is one reason why confident, trained professionals in elder care are essential. Celebrate Parkinson's Awareness Month with the makers of Certified Parkinson's Disease Care™, enhancing your ability to refer families to resources and empowering them to build support systems to avoid burnout.
Compliance Cue: F605 — Free from Chemical Restraints
In January, CMS announced major updates to surveyor guidance on several F-tags in the State Operations Manual Appendix PP, effective April 28, 2025. F605 (Free from Chemical Restraints) is one tag with extensive revisions, as removal of F758 (Free from Unnecessary Psychotropic Meds/PRN Use) has moved guidance from this tag to now be incorporated into and cited under F605.
LEARN About the F605 Changes >
New Resources to Prepare for Quality Measures Changes
New calculations around quality measures will have significant impacts on you and your team. To help you prepare, we recently presented a webinar titled Success Strategies to Manage Newly Activated Quality Measures & Survey Changes and have developed additional supporting articles.
The Pain Points of Pain Management: Navigating Opioid Use Regulations in Long-Term Care
Tuesday, April 8 at 1:00 PM ET
Explore opioid stewardship as a means to improve pain management and promote appropriate opioid use. This session will discuss ways to improve safety and align your approaches to current guidelines. We will also explore the benefits of opioid stewardship and the key elements of a successful program.
Diabetes Treatment Updates for Individuals with I/DD
Tuesday, April 22 at 1:00 PM ET
One of the most prevalent chronic conditions among adults with I/DD, diabetes can lead to serious complications if not properly managed. This program will explore factors that influence therapy decisions, metabolic and adherence concerns, and strategies for disease management to enhance health outcomes and quality of life.
QAPI Webinar Series with NADONA Part 2 of 3: What's the Real Reason This Occurred?
Tuesday, May 13 at 1:00 PM ET
The second in our three-part QAPI webinar series with NADONA, this presentation will walk through actual Root Cause Analysis scenarios and the process of Plan Do Study Act to help you achieve optimal outcomes from these processes.
