Kidney Care News to Know for December

ASN Kidney Health Workforce Analysis Shows Mixed Picture

A new report on the nephrology workforce from the American Society of Nephrology shows a decrease in new nephrologists this year, but a possible increase next year. Other notable findings include:

• The number of female nephrologists is on the rise. While only 25 percent of nephrologists are women, 36 percent of nephrology fellows are female.
• The number of nephrology fellows in training has held steady.
• The number of adult nephrologists is expected to grow by 58 percent between 2016 and 2030.

Source:Nephrology News & Issues

CMS Updates Star Ratings Methodology & Adds Measures to Dialysis Facility Compare

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services added quality measures focusing on the standardized infection ratio and a pediatric peritoneal dialysis Kt/V to Dialysis Facility Compare.

The agency is also in the process of updating its Star Ratings Methodology, by taking into account year-to-year changes in facility performance on quality measures and using a statistical method that ensures extreme outlier performance on a single measure isn’t used to determine ratings.

Source: Nephrology News & Issues

Fresenius Medical Care’s Third Quarter Earnings up 27 Percent

Thanks to higher revenue per treatment and an increase in patients with commercial health insurance, Fresenius Medical Care’s third quarter earnings grew from $216 million in the third quarter of last year to $333 million to the third quarter of 2016.

Source: Nephrology News & Issues

CMS Project will Evaluate how Payment Policy Affects Dialysis Patients

A research institute will monitor near-term indicators of access and quality of care to see if Medicare beneficiaries experience any changes in dialysis services after the recent changes to dialysis payment policy.

Source: Nephrology News & Issues

ESRD Linked to Consumption of Diet Soda

A recent study found people who have more than seven diet sodas per week have a greater risk for end stage renal disease. Researchers found dietary phosphorus was higher among those who frequently consumed diet sodas.

Source: Renal & Urology News