QIAs

End stage renal disease (ESRD) quality improvement activities (QIAs) are designed to assist dialysis facilities and transplant centers to achieve optimal clinical outcomes and experience of care for all dialysis and kidney transplant patients. Network 15’s QIAs are focused on enhancing the quality of service for Medicare beneficiaries by:

• Gathering information systematically to clarify issues or problems.
• Implementing interventions to achieve improvements.
• Measuring quality outcomes.
• Incorporating the patient voice in all activities to maximize learning 
  and cooperation between providers and patients through shared decision-making.
• Supporting the spread of best practices.

To support facilities with identifying barriers, examining solutions and monitoring for rapid cycle improvement, the Network has created the Rapid Cycle Improvement Training Resource (PDF) to guide facilities through the quality improvement process. For additional information about Network QIAs for 2020 and access to QIA documents, trackers, toolkits and best practices, read more below. Download the ESRD Network 15 2020 QIAs for 2020 (PDF) or the Network 17 QIA Overview (PDF).

Getting Started 

To assist with quality improvement (QI) within your organization, review the following videos on QI, finding the root cause, and the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle:

• Illustrated Look at Quality Improvement in Health Care (8.09 minutes)
• 5 Whys: Finding the Root Cause (1.15 minutes)
• PDSA Cycle: Plan-Do-Study-Act (Part 1)(4.45 minutes)

Use the Root Cause Analysis (RCA): 5 Whys Worksheet (PDF) to find the root cause that may be creating barriers to success, and use the PDSA Worksheet (PDF) to initiate facility solutions. 

If your organization missed a live Learning and Action Network (LAN) call, you may use the Missed LAN Call Worksheet.

New Resource: Getting Back to Me: A Goal-Setting Journey (PDF)

Use this workbook to help patients identify personal goals and set a plan to achieve them. This resource was developed by kidney patients and family members and designed to help restore a sense of dignity and increase self-esteem through goal-setting.