9/10 QIP CY2019 Proposed Rule Call

Today’s conference call on the CY2019 ESRD PPS Proposed Rule, impacting PY2021-24, was recorded.  The audio will appear on https://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Outreach/NPC/National-Provider-Calls-and-Events-Items/2018-08-14-ESRD-QIP.html in about two weeks, though the comment period for this proposed rule will expire two weeks after that, on September 10, 2018.  The slides from the call are thorough and available now, from https://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Outreach/NPC/Downloads/2018-08-14-ESRD-QIP-Presentation.pdf.

A proposal we haven’t mentioned before, is that new facilities will begin QIP reporting in their fourth month of operation rather than their first month (slide 31).  The slides also include timelines and resources.  The call did not include questions, as listeners were directed to use the Federal Register comment process, which is detailed on the slides.  For more information on the Proposed Rule, see https://nwrnbulletins.wordpress.com/2018/08/07/9-10-qip-py2021-24-correction/ and the chain of previous posts that it links to.

8/15 CMS Opioid Forum Call

CMS will present an August 15, 2018 Open Door Forum (national conference call) on Sharing Federal Strategies to Address the Opioid Epidemic.  For details see https://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Outreach/OpenDoorForums/ODFSpecialODF.html (August 1, 2018 entry) and https://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Outreach/OpenDoorForums/Downloads/08152018SODFAgenda.pdf.

8/14+ NCC QIA Webinars

The ESRD National Coordinating Center will present three additional August QIA Learning and Action Network webinars:

• Home Modality August 14, 2018; see https://esrdncc.org/en/events/20182/august-20182/home-modality-qia-lan/?date=8/1/2018.
• Transplant August 21, 2018; see https://esrdncc.org/en/events/20182/august-20182/transplant-qia-lan/?date=8/1/2018.
• Patient Experience of Care August 22, 2018; see https://esrdncc.org/en/events/20182/august-20182/patient-experience-of-care-peoc-lan/?date=8/1/2018.

The ESRD NCC calendar is kept at https://esrdncc.org/en/events/.

NW16 10/4+ NWRD Conference, NWCRN News

NWRD Conference

Northwest Renal Dietitians have announced their 2019 Annual Conference, to be held March 7-8, 2019 in Portland OR.  Topics intended so far include cardiac dysfunction, change motivation, diabetes management, and an evening networking event.  For details see https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/412302_a994fa9b56104e058440b04e5eeab527.pdf.

• Online-only registration will be January 15-February 15, 2019, with a late fee after February 15; see https://www.nwrdonline.org/registration.
• Until December 31, 2018:
  • Abstracts for poster presentations can be submitted to https://www.nwrdonline.org/abstracts
  • Sponsors and exhibitors can apply at https://www.nwrdonline.org/sponsor-exhibitor
  • Aspiring attendees can apply for scholarships after November 15, 2018 at https://www.nwrdonline.org/scholarships
• Room discounts at the Conference venue will be available until February 15, 2019; see https://www.nwrdonline.org/accommodations for details.

To follow all Conference details as they develop, see https://www.nwrdonline.org/conference-overview.  Volunteers are welcome and appreciated.  NWRD includes renal dietitians from British Columbia, as well as the five Network 16 states.  There is no NWRD membership fee.

NKF Council on Renal Nutrition News

The Washington State Council on Renal Nutrition and the Oregon Council on Renal Nutrition, regional affiliates of the NKF Council on Renal Nutrition, are merging by January 1, 2019 to become the Northwest Council on Renal Nutrition, NWCRN.  NWCRN will be open to all renal dietitians in Network 16 – Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska.  The Oregon Council has closed, and until the new NWCRN website is available, any Network 16 dietitian may join the Washington State Council, at https://sites.google.com/site/washrenalnutrition/home/membership.

The Washington State Council holds bimonthly meetings, the last two of which in 2018 will be held in Seattle or by webinar on:

• October 4, 2018 – Alkali Treatment in CKD
• December 5, 2018 – Research for Dietitians

For more information see https://sites.google.com/site/washrenalnutrition/home, or email washcrn@gmail.com.  Volunteers are welcome and appreciated.  Handouts and minutes from past meetings are available at https://sites.google.com/site/washrenalnutrition/past-meetings.

NW16 8/14+ Donate Life NW Volunteers

Donate Life Northwest is dedicated to helping transplant candidates maintain hope while waiting for an available matching kidney.  They offer training to volunteers for various situations.  Their upcoming training, volunteering, and celebration schedule includes:

• August 14, 2018 – School Speaker training in Portland OR
• August 15, 2018 – Volunteer Orientation in Bend OR
• August 16, 2018 – School Speaker training in Portland OR
• September 4, 2018 – Volunteer Orientation in Portland OR
• September 8, 2018 – Volunteer Opportunity in Vancouver WA
• September 8, 2018 – Donor Family Picnic in Salem OR
• September 13, 2018 – School Speaker training in Eugene OR
• September 13, 2018 – Volunteer Orientation in Eugene OR
• September 16, 2018 – Volunteer Opportunity in Portland OR
• September 23, 2018 – Volunteer Opportunity in Portland OR
• November 7, 2018 – Lifesavers Breakfast

For more details, see https://mailchi.mp/donatelifenw.org/sharing-hope-this-summer.  This web page also introduces their new Latino Outreach Coordinator, Donor stories in English and Spanish, winners of their recent raffle, and information on including Donate Life Northwest in your estate, insurance, or financial plans.

9/10 QIP PY2021-24 Correction

CMS has announced a correction to their bulletin about proposed PY2021-24 QIP performance measure changes, which we forwarded as https://nwrnbulletins.wordpress.com/2018/08/06/9-10-qip-py2021-24/.  Depression Screening is NOT proposed to be eliminated in PY2021, and Pain Assessment IS proposed to be eliminated in PY2021.  We’ve corrected our earlier bulletin.  Comments on the proposed changes are due by September 10, 2018.

9/6 QIP Preview Period Open

The ESRD QIP PY2019 Preview Period opened August 6, 2018.  It will close on September 6, 2018.  During this Period facilities can review their PSR and submit clarification questions and if necessary a formal inquiry.  CMS advises that clarification questions should be submitted by August 21, 2018, to allow time for questions to be answered before the end of the Period.  For more information about the QIP Preview process, see https://www.qualitynet.org/dcs/ContentServer?c=Page&pagename=QnetPublic/Page/QnetTier3&cid=1228776130396.  For questions about the QIP, see https://cms-ocsq.custhelp.com/app/homeesrdqip/p/960.