The purpose of this newsletter is to facilitate the spread of sustainable, promising practices to all dialysis facilities in our service area. Each section listed below coincides with a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Improvement Activity (QIA). The interventions are CMS focused for nationwide efforts with these QIAs. The sections contain resources and information that were rated highly effective and beneficial by your facilities. Please read through each section of the newsletter and use the resources with your staff and patients. Please consider reaching out to the quality improvement department. | |
Our community coalitions are made up of several different stakeholders, physicians, clinical staff, and patients that serve as work groups to assist with our Quality Improvement Activities. We will be working with our coalitions to hold discussions, brainstorm ideas, and formulate action plans to assist dialysis facilities in several quality improvement areas. If you are interested in joining our community coalitions or know someone that would be a great fit, please access or share the link below. | |
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Home and Transplant Change Packages
These change packages include actionable change ideas, collected from top-performing dialysis facilities. The change ideas presented are intended as a menu of interventions from which program leaders can choose to implement within their facilities. Giving interdisciplinary team (IDT) members these change packages for review will allow them to identify and prioritize change ideas that could be implemented to increase the number of patients educated about and utilizing home dialysis modalities, or increase the number of patients educated about transplant, referred to a transplant center, and waitlisted for kidney transplant.
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Transplant Trailblazers
During the Transplant Community Coalition, that was held in August, we discussed barriers, best practices, and possible interventions. A great way to help educate patients is by hearing about patient experiences.
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Nursing Home Patient Safety | |
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New Toolkit in Development
The Nursing Home Community Coalition met in August. After discussing barriers, best practices, and possible interventions it was decided that we will be creating a resource for Nursing Home Staff. This resource will be a Toolkit that will include the following, highly rated resources.
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Put together the Pieces to Prevent Infections in Dialysis Patients: This staff resource will help staff members take steps to help prevent infections in dialysis patients by following good infection control practices.
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How to Care for Your Dialysis Patient Outside of Dialysis: This staff resource will help staff members identify specific needs for a dialysis patient and how to monitor and assess these needs.
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Anemia in ESRD: Knowing what anemia is and how to prevent it is imperative for the care of someone with end-stage renal disease. Use this resource from the American Kidney Fund to educate your staff on what anemia is and why it’s important to monitor and treat in patients with end-stage renal disease.
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Is the Emergency Room Always the Best Choice?
When your patients are feeling sick or have an injury, do they know the best choice for medical care? To help patients make decisions on the right care at the right time, share our Quick Patient Guide: How to Choose Medical Care.
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Depression Screening Workflow
It is important to have a workflow as you complete the PHQ9 with patients. Here is a quick and easy to follow workflow for your review from Alliant Health Solutions.
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Have you heard about 988?
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) just launched their nation-wide Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (988). Please share this valuable resource with your patients, it could save their life. For more information including downloadable fact sheets in English and Spanish and a 30 second video on 988, visit the SAMHSA website.
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Health Literacy
What is Health Literacy? Personal health literacy refers to an individual’s capacity to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decision and actions for themselves and others, as defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Healthy People 2030 Campaign.
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COVID-19: Using Motivational Interviewing
Pneumococcal
Recommendations for the ESRD population were updated in January of this year. CDC Guidance can be found here.
Flu: Frequently Asked Questions
According to the CDC, a few things are different for the 2022-2023 influenza (flu) season. Learn more here.
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ESRD Quality Reporting System (EQRS) | |
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On August 8, 2022, CMS added a new Vaccination Module on the Manage Patient screen in EQRS. Dialysis facilities are required to enter any new patient vaccination data for Hepatitis B, Influenza, and Pneumococcal vaccinations on the Manage Patient screen under the new Vaccinations tab. Check out the Newsletter for information on this and other important information.
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Patient and Family Engagement | |
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Quality Assurance and
Performance Improvement
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Life Planning
My Questions and Goals
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New Patients
English | Spanish
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Existing Patients
English | Spanish
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2022 PEERS in Action Connection Calls | |
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The goal of the PEERS In Action Connection Call is to provide an opportunity for kidney patients and caregivers to connect to the Network and each other, share ideas and learn what they can do at their clinic to improve the patient experience.
Join the PEERS in Action Connection Calls the second Thursday and Friday of every other month at 1 p.m. CT.
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Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) | Ticket to Work is a voluntary work incentive program offered by the Social Security Administration to those receiving Social Security Disability (SSI or SSDI) benefits. Ticket to Work is intended to remove barriers that keep Social Security Disability recipients from attempting to return to work, such as fear of losing health care coverage or being unable to resume benefits if a job does not work out. The goal of the program is to help Social Security Disability recipients who wish to return to the workforce. The Ticket to Work program makes it possible for individuals to test their ability to work without losing their benefits. | |
VR Screening at Dialysis Facilities | The Conditions for Coverage for ESRD Facilities provides guidance on how dialysis facilities are to support patients to achieve an appropriate level of productive activity. Productive activity includes evaluation for referral to services, as appropriate for older youth and adult patients who desire to return to work and/or improve independent living. All patients aged 18-64 should be screened for interest and provided education on vocational rehabilitation and employment network services. The social worker should have available up-to-date community referral options for services and should make referrals in partnership with the patient. Download Guiding your Patients Through Vocational Rehabilitation FAQ | |
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Network 10 VR Brochure
(Illinois)
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Network 12 VR Brochure
(Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska)
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Disclaimer | This material was prepared by Qsource, an End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Network under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Views expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the official views or policy of CMS or HHS, and any reference to a specific product or entity herein does not constitute endorsement of that product or entity by CMS or HHS. 22.ESRD.09.103 | |
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