Roadmap to Success December 2023

Health Equity

Qsource ESRD Networks are dedicated to serving patients and stakeholders in accessing tools and services that promote the attainment of the highest level of health for all people, where everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their optimal health regardless of social determinants of health such as race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, geography, and other factors. Learn more here.  

Closing the Health Literacy Gap Webinar

• Download the Presentation
• View the Recording

Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services 

While many factors impact health equity, providing CLAS can be effective at improving healthcare quality and outcomes. Qsource ESRD Networks have created a toolkit for CLAS implementation and can offer individualized plans for ensuring your facility is respective and responsive to each patient’s culture and communication needs. Take the assessment and a member of our quality improvement team will reach out to you to address your needs.  

• CLAS Toolkit
• CLAS Assessment  
• Qsource ESRD Networks’ Spanish Resources 
• What are Social Determinants of Health? Watch this 5-minute video to learn more.  

Facility Commitment to Health Equity Measure 

The CY 2024 ESRD PPS Final Rule finalized a policy to add a new Facility Commitment to health equity measure to the ESRD QIP measure set beginning with PY 2026. ​This new measure will assess facility commitment to health equity using equity-focused competencies aimed at achieving health equity.​ Read More

Depression

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that's related to changes in seasons. More information can be found within this printable resource available in English and Spanish.   

For technical assistance in the area of depression, please make an appointment with our QI Advisors.

Nursing Home

Caring for patients on dialysis is very complex, even more so when patients have comorbid conditions and reside in a nursing home. It is imperative for nursing home staff to be knowledgeable on the specific needs of these patients to ensure they receive proper care. Use this toolkit to share with nursing home staff to improve patient outcomes in this vulnerable population. Updated to include communication forms for smoother transition of care and information on health equity in Nursing Homes. 

For technical assistance in the area of nursing homes, please make an appointment with our QI Advisor by email at Qsource-QIDept@qsource.org.

Home Dialysis

Our Home Modality Focus Group has been working on meaningful resources to add to your cadre of tools for increasing patient choice of home modality. 

This Home Dialysis Passport was created to help steer patients on their road to home dialysis. The tool was created in collaboration with our Patient Advisory Council. 

This Community Resource was created to bring awareness to kidney disease and offer people information and ideas to help someone they know who may be on dialysis. Consider sharing this resource with local church groups, sororities or fraternities, community centers, or local colleges. With early education, patients have a better chance of choosing a modality that fits their lifestyle. 

For technical assistance in the area of home modality, please make an appointment with our QI Advisor by email at Qsource-QIDept@qsource.org

Transplant

Recently, CMS added a Transplant Dashboard in EQRS for dialysis facilities to view patients’ waitlist and/or transplant status to make it easier for dialysis staff to see where their patients are listed and if there are any issues with their status on the waitlist. This very short video tutorial will walk users through the process of accessing and utilizing the dashboard.   

For technical assistance in the area of transplant, please make an appointment with our QI Advisors. 

Vaccination

Visit our Vaccine Hub and join our 2023/2024 Flu Campaign Contest.

• Pneumococcal Vaccination Timing 
• Flu and COVID Similarities 
• S'More Ways to Stay Health Bulletin Board Kit

For technical assistance in the area of vaccinations, please make an appointment with our QI Advisors here.  

Hospitalization

Treatment Minutes Matter!  

Risks of Shortened or Missed Treatments

English | Spanish

Reducing Hospital Visits Workbook

For technical assistance in the area of hospitalizations, please make an appointment with our QI Advisors. 

Healthy Living

Understanding the renal diet is hard for many patients. The Network has developed some new handouts that can help make choosing renal-friendly foods easier when your patients are away from home. 

• Making Healthy Choices When Dining Out 
• Fast Food Tips for Healthy Living

Diabetes is one of the leading causes of kidney failure. To help your diabetic patients understand more about how the disease affects their body and some tips on healthy food choices, the Network team has created the following resources:   

• How to Balance a Kidney and Diabetic Diet
• The Effects of Uncontrolled Diabetes on the Body

Patient and Family Engagement

Check out our new Peers in Action Video Series! 

What is a Facility Peer in Action and how do they engage with your facility?

What if my patients aren’t interested?

How does this benefit my clinic?

• Quick Start QAPI Guide
• All About You! Life Planning Toolkit
• ESRD Patient Activity Book

EQRS and Data Quality Improvement 

Communication is vital to any quality improvement project. Qsource relies upon the personnel data in EQRS to maintain our email contacts with you. Please review this link and periodically ensure that all key staff are listed and have an email address.   

CY 2024 ESRD PPS Final Rule 

On November 13, 2023, Payment Year (PY) 2024 ESRD QIP final Performance Score Reports (PSRs) and Performance Score Certificates (PSCs) became available via the ESRD QIP UI in EQRS. As a reminder, facilities are required to display the English and Spanish versions of their PSC in a prominent patient area within the facility no later than Monday, December 4, 2023 (15 business days from their release date). PY 2024 ESRD QIP PSCs must remain posted throughout 2024, until next year’s PSCs are available. Read More 

ESRD Data Submission Deadlines 

Dialysis facilities must submit EQRS data by the deadlines listed below. Not submitting the required data by these deadlines puts your facility at risk for an ESRD QIP payment reduction. Please note that if the last day of the month falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, the deadline will occur on the next federal business day.

Read More 

CY 2024 ESRD PPS Final Rule 

On November 6, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published the Calendar Year (CY) 2024 End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System (PPS) Final Rule in the Federal Register. Each year, CMS issues a final rule to update Medicare payment policies and rates under the PPS. This rule updates the ESRD Quality Incentive Program (QIP) requirements and includes policies to add three new measures that reflect the agency’s commitment to achieving health equity. 

For additional details on the CY 2024 ESRD PPS Final Rule, register for the final rule webinar on January 11, 2024. Use these links for additional rule information: Read More  

Patient Services

What Every Providers Needs to Know About Handling an IVD

STAR Resource

Are your Grievance Posters up to date? These should be posted in a common area for patients to be able to view.  

Network 10 Grievance Posters

English | Spanish

Network 12 Grievance Posters

English | Spanish

Need Continuing Education?  

This free, interactive course is designed to help healthcare workers better understand the scope and nature of violence in the workplace. Upon successful completion of the course, healthcare professionals can earn continuing education units.   

Emergency Prep

All dialysis facilities are responsible for reporting facility service interruptions and closures to the Network. Emergency preparation is part of the CMS ESRD Conditions for Coverage (CfCs). Learn more here.   

Onsite Visit Progress

The Network is providing in-person technical assistance to facilities this year. Facilities are notified about a month in advance of the visit, so you'll know if you're on our onsite visit list ahead of time. We will work with your facility on process improvements for one of four key metrics: Home, Transplant, Hospitalization, or Vaccination. Check out our progress so far. 

Qsource ESRD Networks Resources in the Wild

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. 23.ESRD.12.217