Category Archives: Self-Care (Staff)

Right to Self-Cannulate

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Home Dialysis Central  has published a thorough summary of the right that a patient has to “be informed about and participate, if desired, in all aspects of his or her care” [42 CFR 494.70(a)(5)], including self-cannulation.  A facility that denies a competent patient the right to be trained to self-cannulate is vulnerable to state survey citation tags V456, V512, and V585.  Find the summary at http://homedialysis.org/news-and-research/blog/214-self-cannulation-a-patient-right-and-cms-expectation-for-interested-and-trained-patients .

7/13 IHI Self-Care Audio

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IHI will sponsor a free July 13, 2017 audio presentation on “Greater Satisfaction, Outcomes, and Savings with Self-Administered Care,” reporting on recent improvements in outcomes when patients are trained to do their own dialysis or other health care.  Find full details and register at http://www.ihi.org/education/AudioVideo/WIHI/greater-satisfaction-outcomes-and-savings-with-self-administered-care/Pages/default.aspx/ .

7/18 NW18 Quality Conference

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The HealthInsight ESRD Network 18 Quality Conference 2017 will be held in Los Angeles on July 18, 2017.  Onsite parking, continental breakfast, and lunch are all included in the $25 registration fee.  All Dialysis staff are invited – PCTs, RNs, SWs, dietitians, nephrologists, management, regional staff, support staff, and more will all benefit.  Main Topics include palliative care and advance care planning, violence prevention and de-escalation techniques, Alzheimer’s and dementia, emergency planning and preparedness, infection control, self care, and community resources.  Two CEs will be available to RNs and SWs.  Find full details and register at http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=gfuz7mxab&oeidk=a07ee8xffqt1c2df4c8&oseq= .

Self-Care

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A new Harvard Business Review article on “The Value of Teaching Patients to Administer Their Own Care” includes an example of a self-care dialysis program at the Central Texas Nephrology Associates clinic in Waco, Texas.  Some excerpts:

  • “In 2016, nearly 40% of CTNA’s 751 patients performed their own dialysis while experiencing fewer hospitalizations and a lower mortality rate than patients receiving dialysis the conventional way.  Patients delivering their own dialysis experienced better outcomes and the health system minimized costs by avoiding unnecessary hospital visits.”
  • The “Providers’ role changed from performing every step of the process to serving as coaches and supporters of patients doing their own care.  The resulting redeployment of staff resources led to higher productivity and throughput for the clinic.”
  • “Regardless of the setting, a successful approach to patient-administered self-care requires the following:
    • “Patients or caregivers must be prepared and willing… Care organizations need to develop a standard process for training patients… Practitioners must be trained to support patient-administered care, …to see themselves as coaches and the patient as an integral partner, …[to] recognize that patients’ capabilities to provide their own care may differ and evolve over time, and …to connect with the patient…
    • “A standard protocol should be developed [including] …methods for distributing equipment, supplies, and medication …how patients and providers should respond to adverse events …easy access to outpatient and inpatient services to address any needs that arise.
    • “A care organization that has [an outcome]-based-payment system will have a much easier time adopting the self-care model …Patient-administered care realizes savings by avoiding spending in the first place; in a fee-for-service model, this is lost revenue.”

Find the article at https://hbr.org/2017/06/the-value-of-teaching-patients-to-administer-their-own-care .

 

7/18 NW18 Quality Conference

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The HealthInsight ESRD Network 18 Quality Conferene 2017 will be held in Los Angeles on July 18, 2017.  Onsite parking, continental breakfast, and lunch are all included in the $25 registration fee.  All Dialysis staff are invited – PCTs, RNs, SWs, dietitians, nephrologists, management, regional staff, support staff, and more will all benefit.  Main Topics include palliative care and advance care planning, violence prevention and de-escalation techniques, Alzheimer’s and dementia, emergency planning and preparedness, infection control, self care, and community resources.  Two CEs will be available to RNs and SWs.  Find full details and register at http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=gfuz7mxab&oeidk=a07ee8xffqt1c2df4c8&oseq= .

Free CE Courses

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The American Kidney Fund offers a number of free NANT, NASW, and CDR continuing education credits on depression, self-care, relationship-building, and a number of other topics. See http://www.kidneyfund.org/training/online-cmece-opportunities/ for more information.

The NKF Professional Education Resource Center also presents free continuing-education courses, for most kidney-related health professions.  Just a few of these courses include prevention, hepatitis (see below), water, cultural sensitivity, pain management, hyperkalemia, and other mineral imbalances.  For more information see http://education.kidney.org/courses .

July 28 is World Hepatitis Day, by the way; for more information see http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6528a1.htm .

Six CEUs at 11/11 CNSW Portland Conference

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The OR SW-WA Chapter of CNSW and the Legacy Transplant Team are presenting a Conference in Portland on November 11, 2015.  Topics include self-care, conflict management, home dialysis, living transplant donation, and CKD, plus a tour of the Legacy Transplant Team offices.  Up to six CEUs are available, and if you mail your check in time for it to get to Portland by November 10th, you’ll save 20% on the cost of admission and still get breakfast and lunch included.  For full details see: