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End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Network 13

ESRD Network 13 is a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting dialysis facilities and kidney transplant centers in their efforts to provide quality care for their patients with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). It is part of a nationwide system of 18 Networks contracted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services under the ESRD Program established as part of the Social Security Administration in 1972, to help assure that people receiving  dialysis services or kidney transplants receive proper care.

ESRD Network 13 works with dialysis and  kidney transplant centers and their patients in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. It is governed by a Board of       Directors that is made up of renal patients and dialysis and transplant professionals including nephrologists, nurses, social workers and dietitians

Consisting of Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma, has a combined estimated population of 10,745,317 as of July 2007. Due to widespread rural communities within the Network, access to health care continues to be an ongoing problem for many ESRD patients. Cultural diversity from state to state and between regions within states adds to the challenges of education, patient compliance and cooperation with treatment regiments.

MISSION STATEMENT

To assess and improve the quality of care provided to individuals with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD).

Network Goals and Objectives

1. Encouraging, consistent with sound medical practice, the use of those treatment settings most compatible with the successful rehabilitation of the patient and the participation of patients, providers of services, and renal disease facilities in vocational rehabilitation programs;
   
   
2. Ongoing development, implementation, and evaluation of goals, criteria, and standards relating to the quality and appropriateness of patient care with respect to working with patients, facilities, and providers by encouraging and evaluating participation in Network standards;
   
   
3. Implementing and monitoring policies and procedures for evaluating and resolving patient grievances;
   
   
4. Conducting onsite reviews of facilities and providers, as necessary (as determined by the Medical Review Board or the Secretary), utilizing standards of care established by the Network organization and referencing applicable professional renal organizations’ standards to assure proper medical care;
   
   
5. Collecting, validating, and analyzing data for the preparation of reports and assuring the maintenance of the Renal Registry;
   
   
6. Identifying facilities and providers that are not meeting Network goals (standards), assisting such facilities and providers in developing, implementing, and evaluating appropriate improvement plans, and reporting to the Secretary on facilities and providers that are not providing appropriate medical care;
   
   
7. Submitting an annual report to the Secretary on June 30 of each year which will include Network goals and performance data on comparative performance of facilities with respect to patients in self-care settings, transplantation, and vocational rehabilitation programs, identification of those facilities that have consistently failed to cooperate with Network goals and recommendations with respect to the need for additional or alternative ESRD services for facilities in the Network; and
   
   
8. Ongoing establishment and maintenance of a Network Council of renal dialysis and transplant facilities located in the Network area and a Medical Review Board (MRB), which has a membership inclusive of at least one patient, physicians, nurses, and social workers engaged in the clinical practice relative to end stage renal disease.

 

For information about the ESRD Networks, please link to:http://www.esrdncc.org/