The resources below offer support for the ESRD QIP, Dialysis Facility Compare (DFC), Star Ratings, and Dialysis Facility Reports (DFRs) for performance assessment and improvement.
End stage renal disease (ESRD) quality improvement activities (QIAs) are designed to assist dialysis facilities and transplant centers to achieve optimal clinical outcomes and experience of care for all dialysis and kidney transplant patients. The Network's QIAs are focused on enhancing the quality of service for Medicare beneficiaries by:
- Gathering information systematically to clarify issues or problems.
- Implementing interventions to achieve improvements.
- Measuring quality outcomes.
- Incorporating the patient voice in all activities to maximize learning
and cooperation between providers and patients through shared decision-making. - Supporting the spread of best practices.
ESRD Quality Incentive Program (QIP)
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) administers the ESRD QIP to promote high-quality services in outpatient dialysis facilities treating patients with ESRD. This page includes FAQs, milestones, and program details.
View ResourceESRD QIP Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
This is an informal document prepared by CMS to address frequently asked questions about the ESRD QIP program.
View ResourceESRD QIP Summary Payment Years 2019–2024
CMS administers the ESRD QIP to promote high-quality care by outpatient dialysis facilities treating patients with ESRD. This document includes a summary of all measures for each QIP PY.
View ResourceESRD QIP Measure Specifications
This document includes the technical specifications for each QIP PY.
View ResourceOther CMS QIP Educational Materials
This page includes additional CMS QIP educational resources.
View ResourceMedicare Care Compare—Dialysis Facility Compare
This site helps you find and compare Medicare-certified dialysis facilities. You can see how each facility compares to others based on star ratings, services offered, and quality of care. This tool is especially helpful if you are on vacation and need to find a temporary facility.
View ResourceMedicare Compare Patient Educational Resources
Share the Forum of ESRD Network’s Medicare Compare educational handout with patients so they are better prepared to use the site.
View ResourceDialysis Facility Compare Social Media Toolkit for Dialysis Centers
This document provides helpful tips for dialysis facilities that use social media. It includes sample tweets, posts, and even graphics you can share.
View ResourceDialysis Facility Compare Social Media Toolkit for Physicians
CMS has developed social media toolkits, available in English and Spanish, to encourage healthcare professionals, dialysis centers, patients, and their caregivers to use Dialysis Facility Compare as a valuable and reliable resource for information relevant to kidney care. The messages included in...
View ResourceDialysis Facility Reports Website
DialysisData.org houses the DFRs and the DFC Reports that include information about directly actionable practice patterns such as dose of dialysis, vascular access, and anemia management, as well as patient outcomes (such as mortality, hospitalization, and transplantation) that can be used to inform and motivate reviews of practices.
Annual DFRs and quarterly DFC Reports are made available to facilities, State Survey Agencies, and Regional Offices online at dialysisdata.org which replaces the old DialysisReports.org website. Only authorized users can access the reports.
Facilities can use the DFR and DFC reports to assist in their quality improvement efforts; state surveyors use the DFR data when deciding which facilities to survey. Facilities are given a chance to preview and comment upon these reports. The quality measures from the reports are posted on the Dialysis Facility Compare website which is used by dialysis patients to review and compare characteristics and quality information on dialysis facilities in the United States. Facilities are also assigned a Star Rating which is solely based on a bell-curve comparison to other facilities.
General Notes About Accessing DFRs and DFC Reports
- Facility Administrators are designated as Master Account Holders (MAH) for the Dialysis Data website and are responsible for setting up other user’s accounts for this website.
- Each year all facility-user accounts (including those of the MAH) are disabled. Shortly thereafter, Facility Administrators receive updated passwords and information for enabling existing and new users and setting permissions for all users (including themselves.)
- University of Michigan Kidney Epidemiology and Cost Center (UM KECC) oversees the Dialysis Data website and, with help from Networks, oversees the process of providing IDs and Passwords, and accessing the DFRs.
- FAQs can be found on the Dialysis Data website regarding the login process, general information, and the Star Ratings associated with DFC measures.
- Sample reports as well as the methodology and technical documentation can be found on the dialysisdata.org website.
Questions should be directed to the UM KECC helpdesk by sending an email to DialysisData@umich.edu or calling 855.764.2885.
View ResourceICH-CAHPS
The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) In-Center Hemodialysis Survey is designed to measure the experiences of people receiving in-center hemodialysis (ICH) care from Medicare-certified dialysis facilities. This is the official website for news, information, and training about the ICH CAHPS Survey.
View ResourceNational Healthcare Safety Network
The National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is a secure, internet-based system which tracks healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). NHSN provides data to identify problem areas and measure progress of prevention efforts, with the ultimate goal of eliminating HAIs. Participation in NHSN reporting is part of the ESRD Quality-Incentive Program for in-center dialysis facilities treating more than 10 patients.
View ResourceNHSN 5-Step Enrollment for Outpatient Dialysis Facilities
This website provides step-by step guidance for enrolling in NHSN.
View ResourceNote: documents in Portable Document Format (PDF) require Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or higher to view, download Adobe Acrobat Reader.
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