CMS Issues Final Rule To Update Dialysis Center Standards

Main Category: Urology / Nephrology
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 07 Apr 2008 - 8:00 PDT

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CMS on Thursday released a final rule that updates requirements and standards of care for the more than 4,700 Medicare-approved dialysis facilities nationwide, CQ HealthBeat reports. The updated requirements, which reflect clinical and scientific advances since the current requirements were first published in 1976, will focus on patient rights, safety and participation, according to CMS officials (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 4/3).

The new rule affects 336,000 Medicare beneficiaries who receive dialysis treatments, Bloomberg/Arizona Daily Star reports (Marcus, Bloomberg/Arizona Daily Star, 4/4). Facilities will be required to conduct a comprehensive health examination of patients when they begin dialysis treatments and establish an "interdisciplinary team" -- consisting of a physician, a nurse, a social worker and possibly the patient -- to create a care plan, according to Barry Straube, CMS' chief medical officer. In addition, facilities will be required to develop a quality assessment and performance improvement program and to track patient treatment outcomes, Straube said.

The update also reduces "detailed and burdensome requirements" that dialysis facilities previously were required to meet, including employing a medical records supervisor and preparing annual long-term plans for patients. As a result, the new requirements will not add to facilities' costs, according to Straube (CQ HealthBeat, 4/3).

Dialysis centers will have up to 180 days to comply with the new requirements, rather than the regular 60 days, because of the scope of the changes, Straube said (Bloomberg/Arizona Daily Star, 4/4).

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