May 2018 Updates

Discuss: Sustainability - is your facility's process for educating patients, family members and staff sustainable?  Is it an ongoing process?  Do you report on treatment options education at your monthly QAPI meeting?

Review: ESRD NCC LAN recommended MATCH-D  as a resource for staff training.  The non-profit Medical Education Institute, Inc., developed the Method to Assess Treatment Choices for Home Dialysis (MATCH-D) to help nephrologists and dialysis staff identify and assess candidates for home dialysis therapies (PD and HHD). It is designed to sensitize clinicians to key issues about who can use home dialysis. Please note that there is a companion patient tool from MEI: My Life, My Dialysis Choice this is an online decision making tool that patients and family members can use when deciding on modalities.

Consider reviewing the Match D tool with your staff as part of their education process, and take a look at the My Life, My Dialysis Choice Tool - it helps to organize questions about how a modality can fit into a patient's lifestyle. Maybe you can review both as part of a Lunch & Learn session with your staff? And recommend the My Life, My Dialysis Choice website to patients and family members.

Report:  (Due 5/31/2018) Based on feedback, we have re designed our Monthly Reporting form to make it easier to report feedback. 

All Facilities MUST report feedback, but you ONLY need to report 7 step data if your facility is NOT part of an LDO (DaVita, DCI, FMC).

QIA Education Materials Feedback

The IPRO End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Network of New York is contracted by the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to launch Quality Improvement Activities in the Network Service area.  30% of dialysis facilities have been targeted in New York state to improve the Utilization of Home Therapies. (Peritoneal Dialysis and Home Hemo Dialysis)

Facilities in this QIA are targeted to increase the number of patients utilizing appropriate home dialysis by 10% during this project period. Ultimately, CMS has a goal to increase the national average of patients utilizing home dialysis to 16% in 2023 from just 12% in 2016.

CMS has a developed a seven step methodology to track patient progression through the process of changing modality from in-center hemodialysis to an appropriate home  modality. The seven steps are as follows:

1. Patient interest in home modality
2. Educational session to determine the patient's preference of home modality
3. Patient suitability for home modality determined by nephrologist, with expertise in home dialysis therapy
4. Assessment for appropriate access placement 
5. Placement of appropriate access
6. Patent accepted for modality training
7. Patient begins home modality training

In collaboration with the National Coordinating Center (NCC) and dialysis facilities the Network will track and monitor patient progression through these seven steps. The Network will assist facilities with identification with root cause(s) that may impede patient progression. Facilities will participate in a bi-monthly Learning and Action Network (LAN) presented by the NCC to facilitate that sharing of best practices to promote appropriate home dialysis.