This year’s Mid-Columbia Nephrology Conference, originally scheduled for October 19, has been cancelled.
Monthly Archives: September 2014
Network Consumer News in Spanish
We’ve added a Spanish edition of our patient newsletter Network Consumer News (aka Novedades para el consumidor de la Red) to the Network website, starting with the June issue on “Body Image, Palliative Care, and Vocational Rehabilitation,” or “Tómeselo con calma, Cuidado paliativo, et Rehabilitación Vocacional.” Find it at http://www.nwrenalnetwork.org/P/NCN.htm.
CROWNWeb Q&A, Deadlines
CROWNWeb has posted the slides from their September 25 online Version 4.5 Q&A Town Hall, at http://projectcrownweb.org/assets/Webex/TownHall-2014-09/CROWNWeb_4.5-Questions_and_Answers.pdf.
The slides include a recently announced change in CROWNWeb clinical data deadlines:
- Clinical data for October, November, and December 2014 will close on January 31, 2015
- After January 1, 2015, each individual month will close two months afterwards. For instance, January will close March 31, February will close April 30, etc.
The change was announced September 19.
Warning: Xolair Label Changes
The FDA has announced label changes for the asthma drug Xolair because of a slightly elevated risk of cardio- and cerebro-vascular events. For details see http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm416408.htm.
I Am More than My Dialysis
We’ve placed a template titled “There Is More to Me than Just Being a Dialysis Patient” in the Patient Engagement Campaign section of the Network Learning and Action Network (LAN) web page at http://www.nwrenalnetwork.org/QI/LAN/LAN.htm#pteng. It’s in MSWord format so you can modify it.
This new tool was developed by the Network’s Patient Learning and Action Network, to aid in helping your staff get to know more about your patients. Some ideas to consider:
- Have new patients fill it out and post their photo on it
- Share the forms with staff, so they can know more about the patients’ life outside of dialysis, their communication preferences and learning style, etc.
- Consider posting the completed forms in the staff break room – to personalize their understanding of individual patients
- Post the form on the facility bulletin board to introduce new patients (only with patient permission)
Please be mindful of HIPPA privacy and security rules – for instance, if you or your patient includes a birthday, don’t put in a year or age.
Medicare Open Enrollment Poster
Northwest Renal Network’s monthly patient flyer is now posted on our website at http://www.nwrenalnetwork.org/P/M/Monthly.htm. The featured topic for September is the Medicare Open Enrollment Period. These flyers are designed for posting in the facility waiting area, and for distribution to patients and family members. Contact our Patient Services Director, Lisa Hall (lhall@nw16.esrd.net) if you have questions or ideas for future monthly topics.
Last Call to Serve on Network Board
The Northwest Renal Network Nominating Committee is seeking nominations for the 2015 Northwest Renal Network Board of Directors. The nominating process will be open until October 15, 2014. With updated guidelines from CMS, we are expanding the board from 11 to 15 members. Additionally, we are looking to diversify the board not only geographically and ethnically but also to include other professions such as statisticians, epidemiologists, medical records managers, financial analysts from additional health care settings such as hospitals, nursing homes and home health, as well as traditional health professions in dialysis and transplant. If you are interested or know someone who might be interested in serving on the board, please contact Stephanie Hutchinson at shutchinson@nw16.esrd.net.
