*** August 19, 2013 Deadline for ESRD Patient Comments on Quality Care ***

Here is a direct way for people on dialysis and/or a family member to provide comment for the development of quality measures for the ESRD population.

Please read and participate. It does get very technical, which may prevent many from participating. The extended deadline is now Monday, August 19, 2013, at the close of business day

Thanks!
--Zach

ESRD Quality Measure Call for Public Comment

Project overview:

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has contracted with Arbor Research Collaborative for Health/UM-KECC to develop mineral and bone disorder, pediatric peritoneal dialysis adequacy, hemodialysis adequacy, and preventive care measures for the ESRD population. The purpose of the project is to develop quality measures that can be used to promote the delivery of high quality care to Medicare beneficiaries with ESRD. The public comment period provides an opportunity for the widest array of the public and interested parties to provide input on the measures under development and can provide important suggestions not previously considered by the measure contractor or its technical expert panels (TEPs).

The following draft measures were developed and updates to an existing measure were made under this project. These are now posted for public comment:

• Mineral and bone disorder: Percentage of Dialysis Patients with Dietary Counseling
• Mineral and bone disorder: Percentage of all peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis with uncorrected serum calcium measured at least once within a month
• Mineral and bone disorder: Measurement of Plasma PTH Concentration
• Mineral and bone disorder: Measurement of Serum Phosphorus Concentration (NQF #0255)
• Pediatric peritoneal dialysis adequacy: Achievement of Target Kt/V
• Pediatric peritoneal dialysis adequacy: Frequency of Measurement of Kt/V
• Hemodialysis adequacy: Ultrafiltration Rate > 13 ml/kg/hr
• Hemodialysis adequacy: Standard Kt/V Reporting Measure
• Hemodialysis adequacy: Surface Area Normalized Standard Kt/V Reporting Measure
• Preventive care: ESRD Vaccination – Full-Season Influenza Vaccination
• Preventive care: ESRD Vaccination - Timely Influenza Vaccination
• Preventive care: ESRD Vaccination –Influenza Vaccination of Dialysis Facility Healthcare Personnel
• Preventive care: ESRD Vaccination – Lifetime Pneumococcal Vaccination
• Preventive care: ESRD Vaccination - Pneumococcal Vaccination (PCV13)
• Preventive Care: ESRD Vaccination - Pneumococcal Vaccination (PPSV23)

Specific project objectives: The goal of this project is to develop and implement measures that will be used to assess and improve the quality of care for patients with ESRD.
The development process includes:

 Identifying important quality goals related to the measure areas identified above
 Conducting an environmental scan, literature reviews and grading of evidence
 Obtaining evaluation of proposed measures by technical expert panels
 Defining and developing specifications for each quality measure
 Testing measures for reliability, validity, and feasibility
 Posting for public comment

To provide public comments, note the following:

 The public is encouraged to submit general comments on the entire measure set or comments specific to certain measures.
 At the end of the public comment period, all public comments will be posted on the Web site.
 Do not include personal health information in your comments.

To inform your comments, you can review:

• The measure specifications, summary of testing, and evidence for each measure in the respective Measure Information Form (MIF) and the Measure Justification Form (MJF)
• The comments provided by the TEP during our TEP meetings in the TEP Summary Report. https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/MMS/TechnicalExpertPanels.html
Scroll down all the way to "Downloads" and click "ESRD Quality Measures TEP Summary Reports."

Instructions for Providing Comments:

 If you are providing comments on behalf of an organization, include the organization’s name and your contact information.
 If you are commenting as an individual, submit identifying or contact information.
 Please identify the measures for which you are providing comments. You may submit general comments on the entire set of measures or you may provide comments specific to individual measures.
 Email your comments to: ESRD_Quality_Measures@ArborResearch.org. Comments are due by close of business August 19, 2013.
 At the end of the public comment period, all public comments will be posted on the CMS Web site - https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/MMS/index.html?redirect=/MMS/17_CallforPublicComment.asp.