A Periodic Newsletter from The Mid-Atlantic Renal Coalition | www.esrdnet5.org
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March 22, 2016 
MARC e-lerts 
The Mid-Atlantic Renal Coalition (MARC) distributes MARC e-lerts to share important information affecting the Network 5 renal community.  We hope you find this edition's reminders, educational opportunities, tools, and resources helpful.  
 
NOTE: To ensure delivery to your inbox, please add marc@nw5.esrd.net to your address book. 

Message from the Director
As we mentioned in our last issue of elerts, March is National Kidney Month. We are pleased to share that our Patient Advisory Committee Chair David White participated in a segment about CKD on Lifetime TV's The Balancing Act earlier this month; watch the segment here. Additionally, there are opportunities for you to honor your kidneys and the crucial role they perform-there are numerous awareness events ( find your local National Kidney Foundation office for more information) and even an opportunity for you to support legislation to increase kidney transplantation. There's still time to get out there and promote kidney health in March!

We hope you enjoy this issue.   

Nancy Armistead
Executive Director, MARC

March is National Kidney Month
  • MARC's Patient Advisory Committee Chair David White participated in a segment about chronic kidney disease on Lifetime TV's The Balancing Act, which aired March 10 and 17. View the segment.
  • Renal Support Network (RSN) has a great blog to share with your patients and community. 50 Shades of Yellow talks about how the color of urine can tell a lot about your health.
  • LegislationRep. Nadler (D-NY), Rep. Burgess (R-TX), Sen. Kirk (R-IL), and Sen. Gillibrand (D-NY) have introduced the Living Donor Protection Act. More than 20 million Americans have kidney disease, and transplantation is the optimal therapy for most patients whose kidneys fail. The bipartisan Living Donor Protection Act of 2016, introduced in both houses of Congress, will help increase access to kidney transplants by protecting donors, securing jobs, and educating Americans. Contact your Congressman and learn more.
Don't Forget to Do Your PART
CMS released the CROWNWeb Data Management Guidelines earlier this year. These guidelines describe CMS' expectations for the management of data in CROWNWeb. Starting immediately, the Network will begin monitoring the completion of your PART in CROWNWeb. By the fifth business day of each month a CROWNWeb user must log into CROWNWeb and verify the data on the Patient Attributes and Related Treatments (PART) screen for your facility. By doing so you'll ensure that the following information is correct:
  • Patient census
  • Admits/discharges status
  • Current treatment summary
  • Patients' current attending physician
Verifying data on the PART screen helps with reducing the number of patients who fall into what is known as a "gap" status. Additionally, reviewing these data indirectly supports the CMS-2744 form completion.

The State Survey Agency will be notified after a facility misses the PART deadline three times. PART training is available here and on the MARC website.

To help ensure success, the Network will email reminder notifications each month to the data contact and administrator at each dialysis facility.
Infection Prevention
NHSN Data Due March 31
Mark your calendars. The 4th quarter deadline for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Quality Incentive Program (QIP) rule for calendar year 2015 (payment year 2017) is Thursday, March 31. Facilities reporting to NHSN should report all three months of October, November, and December 2015, data by the March deadline in order to receive full credit for Quarter 4 reporting and to meet all minimum requirements for the CMS ESRD QIP. Review your data to ensure that:
  1. Adequate follow-up has been completed on all positive blood cultures collected outside of the dialysis clinic on the day of and on the day after hospitalization.
  2. All dialysis events have been reported in accordance with the 21-day rule.
  3. All patients have only been counted once in the monthly denominator.
Transplant
Transplantation Education is Available for Professionals and Patients
On April 9, the Diabetes Research & Wellness Foundation and the Capitol Association of Diabetes Educators will jointly host two concurrent educational programs on Transplantation: An Option. One session is for professionals (with CEs) and one is for patients. Both sessions will take place at the Greenbelt Marriott in Greenbelt, MD. 

 

Patient Services
2016 ENGAGE Enrollment Ends March 31
Register now for the March 24 Program Kickoff webinar. The webinar will review program requirements, and participants will have an opportunity to ask questions and help make decisions about related Learning & Action Network sessions. Enroll today

March is Social Work Month
Celebrate yourself with something fun. Cafe Press has some of the most humorous social work-themed gifts. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) offers some activities to celebrate the 2016 theme: Forging Solutions out of Challenges

March is National Nutrition Month
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics offers some activities which can be tailored to meet the needs of the renal community to celebrate the 2016 theme:   Savor the Flavor of Eating Right. CMS acknowledges National Nutrition Month and outlines related Medicare benefits for those with diabetes and renal disease.

PatientResourcesPatient Resources
Articles Address Vocational Rehabilitation
The following are thoughtful articles produced by Nephrology News & Issues:
 
MEI Updates Patient Video Series
The non-profit Medical Education Institute (MEI) has updated its video series How to Have a Good Future with Kidney Disease . The videos accompany an updated free, downloadable slide toolkit to help professionals engage people at any stage of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in slowing disease progression, choosing a treatment for kidney failure (when appropriate), and setting life goals. The 6-part series covers coming to terms with kidney disease, what kidneys do, slowing CKD, transplant, dialysis, lifestyle, and finances.  Professionals can refer patients to the videos, or use the videos themselves to learn how to present the slides.
 
Depression Screening
The Decision Memo for Screening for Depression in Adults (CAG-00425N) provides information about Medicare reimbursement for depression screenings and a list of depression screening tools. It also underscores that if you just do the minimum in order to comply with depression screening, you are going to fail your patient.  It takes a much bigger effort-competent depression screening-to benefit your patient.
 
Article Offers Tips on Non-Adherence  
A 2010 article entitled " Working with the Noncompliant Patient ," written by Fred Kleinsinger, MD, and published in The Permanente Journal, offers tools for working with non-adherent patients. It is specifically related to medication adherence, but the principles can be applied to other areas of non-adherence.
 
AHRQ Releases Health Literacy Toolkit for Primary Care Practice
Only 12 percent of U.S. adults have the health literacy skills needed to manage the demands of our complex healthcare system, and even these individuals' ability to absorb and use health information can be compromised by stress or illness. Experts recommend assuming that everyone may have difficulty understanding and creating an environment where all patients can thrive. Like with blood safety, universal precautions should be taken to address health literacy because we cannot know which patients are challenged by healthcare information and tasks at any given time. The Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality's (AHRQ) Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit, 2nd edition can help primary care practices reduce the complexity of healthcare, increase patient understanding of health information, and enhance support for patients of all health literacy levels. New with the 2nd edition are
Find out about more AHRQ health literacy resources at Health Literacy Topics .  
 
PKD National Convention 2016
The Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) National Convention will occur at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, June 24-26, 2016. General registration is open through May 5. Learn more about registration and special financial aid opportunities .
 
AAKP Hosts National Patient Meeting
The American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP) will hold its 2016 National Patient Meeting in Nashville, TN, September 23-25, 2016! AAKP is looking forward to returning to Tennessee to build on the excitement, success, and education of last year's meeting. Registration opens in early spring.

EducationEducation
Registration for NKF's 2016 Spring Clinical Meetings is Now Open
Registration is now open. The National Kidney Foundation's SCM16 presents a unique opportunity for busy renal health care providers to learn new developments related to all aspects of nephrology. 

47th ANNA National Symposium Will Be Held in May
ANNA will be hosting its 47th National Symposium May 1 - 4 at the Marriott Louisville and Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, KY. The symposium provides opportunities for nephrology nurses to expand their knowledge, enhance clinical skills, and widen professional networks. For more information, visit www.annasymposium.org
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