In This Issue

• Livanta will be responsible for all beneficiary quality review case work and appeals in Pennsylvania.
• Healthcare providers and Medicare beneficiaries must contact Livanta toll-free at 1-866-815-5440 for all appeal requests and Quality of Care concerns.
• All outstanding Higher-Weighted DRG medical record requests after August 1 should be mailed to:

BFCC-QIO

9090 Junction Drive Suite 10

Annapolis Junction, MD 20701

• Contact information for Livanta is as follows:

Area 1: 

HelpLine 1-866-815-5440

TTY Helpline 1-866-868-2289

Fax: Appeals 1-855-236-2423

Fax: All other 1-844-420-6671

• KEPRO will be responsible for all beneficiary quality review case work and appeals in Delaware. 
• Healthcare providers and Medicare beneficiaries must contact KEPRO toll-free at 1.844.455.8708 for all appeal requests and Quality of Care concerns.
• All outstanding Higher-Weighted DRG medical record requests after the above date should be mailed to:  

KEPRO

5201 W. Kennedy Blvd, Suite 900 

Tampa, FL 33609

For additional contact information for KEPRO, please review this document. 

The following information will assist you in correctly entering data into the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) database.

• Enter the number of patients who received maintenance hemodialysis at this location on the first two working days of the month, including transient patients.
• Consider all vascular accesses the patient has, even if they are not used for dialysis and even if they are abandoned and/or are non-functional.
• A patient must be physically present for in-center maintenance hemodialysis on one of these days to be counted on this form (exclude patients who are hospitalized).
• Record each patient only once. If a patient has more than one vascular access, record the access type with highest risk for infection.

Vascular accesses are listed in the following hierarchy from highest risk to lowest risk: 

1. Fistula
2. Graft
3. Other access device (e.g. hybrid access device and other access devices not listed)
4. Tunneled Central Line
5. Non-tunneled Central Line

More information is available in the Dialysis Event Protocol, a requirement for annual training.

We encourage you to complete new and updated annual training online Dialysis Event Surveillance Training located on the CDC website.

The conference will consist of three sessions, each with a different theme and each containing at least one valuable "take home" technique in the spirit of a "train the trainer" approach. This interactive meeting will enrich the abilities of the dialysis team including patients, physicians, administrators and everyone who cares about quality patient care. This conference will provide an opportunity to connect with care providers, patients and professionals from across the country.

The Keynote address will be presented by Raymond Hakim, MD, PhD, Professor in the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

Call for Posters
The Forum of ESRD Networks invites your organization to present a poster showcasing your work on any quality project, either recently completed or currently ongoing. Posters will be displayed throughout the conference and highlighted during the Monday evening Wine and Cheese Reception. Poster abstracts are due to the Forum office by Friday, February 20, 2015. Instructions are available at the Forum website.

More Information

Mr. Grant will assist us in presenting the mock drill on September 23, 2014 from 10:00 to 11:15 a.m. and again from 2:00 to 3:15 p.m. Click on the link to your desired attendance time for call information. The scenario for the mock drill is sudden water loss. We will be offering two sessions on the same day.