Welcome to the October 13 edition of the Quality Insights Renal Network 4 (QIRN4) e-newsletter. In this issue, register for the upcoming Annual Meeting, read important announcements, learn about webinars, resources and much more. We encourage you to contact us with any questions, concerns or suggestions.

QIRN4's Annual Meeting

QIRN4 is hosting its 2nd Annual Meeting with the theme "Teaming up for Success" on Tuesday, October 27th, 2015 at Seven Springs Resort in Champion, PA. We invite you all to come and enjoy the experience with us. Register online today. Our headline speaker is Lori Hartwell, founder of the Renal Support Network.

This activity has been submitted to Alabama State Nurses Association for approval to award 6 contact hours. Alabama State Nurses Association is accredited as an approver of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.

DEADLINE EXTENDED: QIRN4 Hand Hygiene Video Contest

Get your creative juices flowing. QIRN4 is asking your facility to develop a short music video using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Hand Hygiene protocol. The facility with the winning video will receive a tailgate party and the video will be shown during QIRN4's Annual Meeting on October 27th at Sevens Springs Mountain Resort in Champion, PA. The winning video may also be shared with the entire Network as a fun educational video for staff and patients. The winner will be selected and notified prior to the Annual Meeting.

Contest Rules

Make it fun. Videos can be funny, have a catchy original tune, be a parody of an existing song, include lip-syncing to a song, etc. Videos can include one individual or a group from your facility.
Keep it professional. All language, music, clothing and dance (if any) must be in accordance with professional behavior. Due to privacy issues, no patients are allowed to participate or appear in the video. This includes the video background as well. Adhere to CDC protocol.
Keep it short. The length of the video must not exceed 4 minutes.
Keep it simple. No special equipment is necessary. Shoot this video on your phone, tablet, digital camera or any device that will allow you to upload it to a computer.
Submit the video to the Network no later than 5:00 p.m. on October 20.

Check out the following Hand Hygiene reference documents to help keep you on track.

If you have any questions, please contact us.

Important Announcement for the Network 4 Dialysis Community

As of October 9, 2015, the master account passwords for DialysisData.org have been reset.

Your NEW dialysis data website master account credentials will be mailed to you the week of October 12, 2015.

In addition, ALL user accounts associated with your Facility have been disabled, and will need to be re-enabled by the Master Account Holder (MAH). This is due to security requirements, to ensure that the appropriate users have access to your facilities reports.

Once you receive your new MAH password, you need to do the following:

Go to www.DialysisData.org, and log in using the NEW dialysis data website master account credentials provided the week of around October 12, 2015.
After you have logged in, you are taken to a page with a list of users for your Facility. If there are no users, you will only see a box with the master account information.
If you wish to re-activate the existing user accounts, click the "edit" button.
Then, set the "Enable/Disable User" selection to "Enabled" and the user will be able to view the reports.

To add a new user, please follow these instructions. Please note that you will need to create a user account for yourself in order to view the reports.

Go to www.DialysisData.org, and log in using the NEW dialysis data website master account credentials provided on or around October 12, 2015.
After you have logged in, you are taken to a page with a list of users for your Facility. If there are no users, you will only see a box with the master account information.
Select "Create New User" and complete the form fields.
Once you have finished, click "create new user"

Please contact Karen Hricak at (610) 265-2418 or e-mail hricak@nw4.esrd.net if you have any questions.

ICD-10-CM Primary Causes of Renal Failure

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has prepared a list of the ICD-10-CM codes that are recommended for use as Primary Causes of Renal Failure after October 1, 2015. Find the list here. Learn more.

Updated Dialysis Event Protocol

The Dialysis Event Protocol has been updated. Please note that there are no changes to the protocol, only maintenance to fix system issues.

IPRO's ESRD NCC Wins National Patient Engagement and Advocacy Award

IPRO's ESRD National Coordinating Center (NCC) is the first organizational recipient of the American Association of Kidney Patients' (AAKPs') Patient Engagement and Advocacy Award, which recognizes leadership and excellence in the field of patient education and outreach. AAKP presented the award to IPRO's ESRD NCC for the work performed by the National Patient and Family Engagement Learning and Action Network (NPFE LAN). The award was presented on September 26, 2015 at the association's 41st National Patient Meeting in Nashville, TN--the first such award to an organization in this category, rather than an individual. Read more.

#TogetherWeCan: Kidney Community Invited to Submit Stories

There is only ONE (1) WEEK left to submit entries to the ESRD National Coordinating Center's #TogetherWeCan national campaign. Whether your treatment is dialysis or you've had a transplant, the NCC wants to hear about how you enjoy life. Tell your story and be part of a video highlighting the success stories of people affected by kidney disease.

Entry is open to dialysis patients, transplant recipients, care partners and renal professionals. The entry form is available for download.

How to submit your story:

Complete the entry form and tell us in 100 words or less how you live well with dialysis or a kidney transplant, or how are you helping others affected by kidney disease.
Sign the release form.
Fax the form to (516) 326-7805 OR mail it to ESRD NCC, Attention Marketing, 1979 Marcus Avenue, Suite 105, Lake Success, NY 11042.
All entries must be received or postmarked by Friday, October 16, 2015.
Instructions on how to submit your story are also available for download.

If your entry is selected to be part of the video you will be contacted by the ESRD NCC and asked to submit photos. Accepted submissions will be used to create a video that will be shared on the NCC website and social media. Your participation may inspire others by showing how, together, the kidney community can live well.

Learn more and send your entry today.

Pennsylvania Residents: Upcoming Webinar on Coverage for Dual Eligibles

The Pennsylvania Health Law Project (PHLP) is offering a free webinar to educate providers, advocates and other professionals who work with dual eligibles (people who have both Medicare and Medicaid) and other low-income Medicare beneficiaries about upcoming Medicare in 2016.

The webinar will be held October 29 from 10:00 a.m. until noon and will cover the following topics:

Medicare Part D plans and costs in 2016
Programs that help Medicare beneficiaries with their costs
Helping Medicare beneficiaries in times of transition, including becoming a dual eligible or losing their dual eligible status

To register for the webinar, please click here. Space is limited, so register today! Please share this announcement with others who may be interested in the webinar.

Featured Resources: Vascular Access and BSI

Vascular Access
Getting My Catheter Taken Out (Pg. 14) (English or Spanish)

National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN)
Access Related Bloodstream Infection Quick Reference

ESRD NCC Free Webinar: "Achieving Catheter Freedom: A Team Approach"

The ESRD National Coordinating Center (NCC) is offering a Fistula First Catheter Last (FFCL) Learning and Action Network (LAN) Webinar Event, "Achieving Catheter Freedom: A Team Approach." The webinar will be held on October 22, 2015 from 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. ET and is available free of charge. Nurses and technicians can receive 1.0 CE.

More than 90% of ESRD patients use hemodialysis for renal replacement therapy and have one or more vascular accesses in place. Decreasing the use of hemodialysis catheters and maximizing the health and maintenance of existing arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) or arteriovenous grafts (AVGs) continues to be a challenge for the dialysis community.

Experts from the FFCL Workgroup Coalition will present on the team approach to catheter safety, access planning and coordination, and vascular access monitoring. Information will be provided on the tools and educational resources available to patients and dialysis care teams (DCTs) to help manage and protect a patient's Lifeline for a Lifetime.

Registration for this event can be found online. The webinar is available free of charge.

Read the entire announcement.

NKF News and Updates

Kidney Walk Kick Off Parties a Success
Kidney Walk Kick Off parties in Philadelphia, PA, Wilmington, DE, and West Chester, PA were a success. Walkers enjoyed complimentary appetizers, collected Walk fundraising materials, chatted with National Kidney Foundation (NKF) staff members and other walkers. Prizes included a NKF Swag Bag, Tiffany & Co. earrings and restaurant gift cards.

Did you miss one of our Kick Off Parties?

There's still time to register for a Kidney Walk.

Chester County Kidney Walk - October 24

Are you a Runner?
Team Kidney is the National Kidney Foundation's new endurance program where you can run, jump ride, swim - anything that makes you sweat- to raise funds to enhance the lives of everyone with or at risk of kidney disease. Whether you participate in honor of someone or you yourself have kidney disease, Team Kidney will be with you every step of your training.

Join Team Kidney.

Upcoming Events

Tough Mudder: October 17th & 18th - Coatesville, PA

Philadelphia Marathon: November 21st & 22nd - Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia Love Run: March 2016 - Philadelphia, PA

CROWNWeb 4.8 Released

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is pleased to announce that CROWNWeb 4.8 was released on October 10, 2015. CROWNWeb 4.8 features three major enhancements, a maintenance update, and a system fix.

Examples of major updates implemented as part of CROWNWeb 4.8 include:

Area		CROWNWeb 4.8 Update
Facility Attestation	Anemia Management and Mineral Metabolism	Removal of Anemia Management and Mineral Metabolism attestation reporting in CROWNWeb.
Facility Attestation	In-Center Hemodialysis Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (ICH-CAHPS)	Maintain functionality that allows facilities to complete ICH CAHPS attestations in CROWNWeb.
Clinical	Clinical Depression Screening	Allow facilities to report data and receive scores on Screening for Clinical Depression and Follow-Up reporting measures in ESRD QIP.
Clinical	Pain Assessment Screening	Allow facilities to report data and receive scores on Pain Assessment and Follow-Up reporting measures in ESRD QIP.

For a full list of system functionality and behavior changes included in CROWNWeb 4.8, please visit the MyCROWNWeb.org website.

Free Kidney Transplant Lunch and Learns

QIRN4 is committed to sharing all upcoming educational opportunities with the ESRD community. Learn more about a free kidney transplant lunch and learn session on November 15, 2015. Please share this event flyer with your patients.

Submit Your Emergency Preparedness Articles

Our focus at QIRN4 is to "Be Disaster Aware, Take Action to Prepare." If you have any disaster preparedness articles or links, please e-mail your information to dknight@nw4.esrd.net so it may be posted in our bi-weekly newsletter.

ESRD NCC Information Exchange

The ESRD Network Coordinating Center (NCC) provides centralized coordination and support for the Medicare ESRD Network program. Each month, the ESRD NCC distributes an e-newsletter, known as the Information Exchange, that compiles the most important information from numerous ListServs and publications related to renal health.

To sign up to receive this informative newsletter, please contact the ESRD NCC at ncc@ncc.esrd.net or visit the ESRD NCC Web site. You can also check the QIRN4 website for updates that include material from the Information Exchange.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
This bi-weekly e-newsletter will serve as our primary method of communicating important news and updates. We encourage you to visit our Web site for the most up-to-date information or to contact us with questions, comments or suggestions.

Quality Insights Renal Network 4

630 Freedom Business Center, Suite 116
King of Prussia, PA 19406
610-265-2418

800-548-9205 (patients only)

610-783-0374 (fax)

www.qirn4.org