July 2016
New Login Process!
QIMS/CROWNWeb: Don't Wait to Set Up EIDM/QARM Accounts!
In July, the QualityNet Identity Management System (QIMS) currently used to access CROWNWeb  will be replaced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' new  Enterprise Portal which includes the QualityNet Authorization and Role Management (QARM) system for access and the Enterprise Identity Management System (EIDM) for user authentication.
 
Because all facilities across the country are transitioning to this new portal at the same time, it is very important that your facility staff who use CROWNWeb register for QARM and EIDM in a timely manner. Failure to do so will mean your current user account will not transfer to the new system when the CROWNWeb 5.0 release is rolled out on July 19, 2016.
 

Click here to view the interactive EIDM and QARM User Registration webinar slides or here to view and download a PDF.

For more details and resources on the QARM/EIDM Transition:
Network Data Knowledge Base and Customer Portal http://help.esrd.ipro.org or
contact the Network Data Department: [email protected]
 
QIP Measures for Pain Assessment and Depression Screenings

The first pain assessment is due for each qualifying patient by August 1st, 2016!

  

CMS is tracking how Medicare-certified dialysis providers perform pain assessments and clinical depression screenings. To analyze these important issues, CMS incorporated "Clinical Depression Screening and Follow-Up" and "Pain Assessment and Follow-Up" as new reporting measures in the agency's Payment Year (PY) 2018 ESRD Quality Incentive Program (ESRD QIP).

 

To comply with these new reporting measures, authorized facility representatives are required to use CROWNWeb to indicate, for each qualified patient, whether they conducted a pain assessment and a clinical depression screening during the performance period, and whether a patient was referred for follow-up for either of these conditions.

 
Click here for the finalized PY 2018 Clinical Measures slides (Pain Assessment is on page 14).
 
For more information about the ESRD QIP click here.
 
Comment on the Proposed ESRD QIP for PY2018-2020
CMS has filed a Proposed Rule, published in the June 30, 2016 Federal Register.
Comments on the Proposed Rule must be submitted by August 23, 2016.

The ESRD PPS proposed rule proposes changes to the ESRD Quality Incentive Program (QIP), that affect payment years (PYs) 2018, 2019, and 2020.  These proposed changes impact the measures for which payment incentives will be made to dialysis facilities to improve the quality of care that they provide. 
 
Under the current ESRD QIP, facilities that do not achieve a minimum Total Performance Score (TPS) for quality measures receive a reduction in their payment rates under the ESRD PPS. The new Rule modifies terms of the ESRD QIP for Payment Years (PY) 2018-2020, provides payment for patients with acute kidney injury, and proposed additional changes that include:
  • Revised technical specifications for the Hypercalcemia clinical measure in PY2018
  • A new Patient Safety Domain encompassing an NHSN reporting measure and BSI clinical measure, valued at 15% of facility TPS in PY2019 and 10% in PY2020
  • An SHR Standardized Hospitalization Ratio clinical measure for PY2020
  • A new Ultrafiltration Rate reporting measure for PY2020
  • Replacing the Mineral Metabolism measure with a new Serum Phosphorus reporting measure in PY2020
 
CDC's Webinar Wednesdays: Immunizations, Vaccines and
Vaccine-preventable diseases (with CE)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is hosting a 15-week webinar series on immunization, vaccines, and vaccine-preventable diseases. Each Wednesday at noon (EDT), health educators will review a different chapter of the 13th edition of "Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases" (also known as "The Pink Book") and answer questions from participants. The Pink Book is available online.
 
When: Every Wednesday starting June 1, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. ET until September 21, 2016.
 
The Pink Book webinar series is designed to address the informational needs of private and public healthcare providers, state and local immunization programs, pharmacists, medical students, and others in the field of immunization delivery. CDC will provide continuing education for each event.
 
 
ZIKA and ESRD: UNOS/OPTN Updates and Resources
The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) and the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) have issued a bulletin that provided guidance for organ donation and transplantation professionals regarding the Zika virus, including notations about transfusions.  

Much information remains unknown, and the Guidance addresses recent donor travel history and risk considerations, with the warning that vulnerability to Zika may also mean vulnerability to Dengue and Chikungunya.  

CDC maps detailing Zika spread are available at: http://www.cdc.gov/zika/geo/

CDC has also issued a Health Alert Network (HAN) update on Zika, HAN #392, CDC Recommendations for Subsequent Zika IgM Antibody Testing.  The update includes a warning to healthcare facilities about the need to collect a second blood sample if they don't hold back and refrigerate a portion of the original sample for additional testing.  Find the HAN at   http://emergency.cdc.gov/han/han00392.asp

OPTN: Recorded Zika virus webinar is available
Learn more about how the Zika virus spreads, risk factors for transmission and how to keep informed on emerging information and strategies.

IPRO End-Stage Renal Disease Network of New York, the ESRD Organization for New York state, prepared this material under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy. CMS Contract Number: HHSM-500-2016-00020C.

IPRO ESRD Network of New York
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