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[STK]
[IN] HEA
[SU] SVY
TO HEALTH, MEDICAL, AND NATIONAL EDITORS:
Kidney Care Partners Releases Comprehensive 'Strategic Blueprint' for
Improving Quality
WASHINGTON, March 4, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Kidney Care
Partners (KCP), a broad-based coalition of patient advocates, dialysis
professionals, care providers, researchers and manufacturers, today
released a comprehensive, first-of-its-kind report designed to
accelerate improvement in the quality of kidney care in the United
States.
The blueprint initiative, launched at a national KCP-sponsored quality
summit in March 2013, culminated in A Strategic Blueprint for
Advancing Kidney Care Quality, supported by 33 organizational leaders
in kidney care. The document identifies four key patient-centric
goals:
-- Improved patient survival;
-- Reduced hospitalizations;
-- Improved health-related quality of life; and,
-- Improved patient experience with care.
The Blueprint also recommends focusing on 32 "strategic opportunities"
to achieve these goals.
"Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD or
kidney failure) have reached epidemic levels due to the rising
incidence of diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity," said Dr.
Edward Jones, a practicing nephrologist and chair of Kidney Care
Partners. "As the incidence of these conditions increases, so too
does the incidence of kidney failure. The Blueprint becomes very
important as we prepare to care for a larger patient population, one
that is more complex than ever before."
While there has been measurable quality improvement in several key
areas, KCP set out to develop a Blueprint that would rapidly
accelerate quality strides. KCP members hope that the Blueprint will
stimulate a broad and meaningful discussion about the most important
drivers of quality.
"Medicare's ESRD Quality Incentive Program (QIP) has created a
foundation for quality improvements through the development of a core
set of quality metrics," said Dr. Jones. "But we must look beyond the
QIP and its measures to drive systematic and rapid improvement. We
must ask ourselves 'What are the right quality metrics?' We must
identify the most effective clinical practices that lead to positive
outcomes. We must invest in research, foster system innovation, and
ensure that federal policy help drive quality to the next level."
"We are both excited and confident that the KCP Blueprint creates a
different quality paradigm," concluded Dr. Jones. "This Blueprint is
a multi-stakeholder, consensus document that provides a near-term
roadmap on key actions that, if undertaken through collaboration and
partnership, can significantly improve kidney care quality."
SOURCE Kidney Care Partners
-0- 03/04/2014
/CONTACT: Alisann Fatemi, 703-887-1493
CO: Kidney Care Partners
ST: District of Columbia New Jersey
IN: HEA
SU: SVY
PRN
-- DC76327 --
0000 03/04/2014 15:35:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
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