The QIP: will it improve dialysis care? An overview.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services End-Stage Renal Disease Quality Incentive Program is a pay-for-performance initiative that imposes dialysis payment reductions of up to 2% for suboptimal quality. In payment years 2012 and 2013 the methodology is simple, a point system based on performance in dialysis adequacy and anemia. In payment year 2014 (performance period begins Jan.

Making a difference in end-of-life decisions.

In summary, this process is painful for family and caregivers, particularly after an extended relationship as the one experienced above. It requires a strong commitment on the part of the health care team who embrace a dignified end-of-life process and the decisions that must be made. The health care team that cared so well for S.

ESRD patient quality of life: symptoms, spiritual beliefs, psychosocial factors, and ethnicity.

Background: Recent research suggests that patients' perceptions may be more important than objective clinical assessments in determining quality of life (QOL) for patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

Methods: We interviewed 165 hemodialysis patients from 3 sites using a QOL questionnaire that included the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) and the McGill QOL (MQOL) scale, which includes a single-item global measure of QOL (Single-Item QOL Scale [SIS]). The MQOL scale asks patients to report their most troublesome symptoms.