Dialysis & CKD Report 10/28

By Miriam Lippel Blum

There are only 20 days left to get your voice heard by CMS in regard to the new proposed rule for dialysis payment. Comments on the Proposed Rule are due to CMS by end of business on November 16. Submit them here. If you don't understand how this rule might impact your dialysis care then go to the Renal Support Network's Kidney Public Policy 101 and learn.

Here are the CKD related blogs updated since my last report on 10/25. If you have or know of a blog that should be on the list let Bill know. Comments in parentheses are my reactions or opinions.

• Dialysis from the sharp end of the needle Bill argues why CMS should not use race/ethnicity as a basis for a case mix adjustment; the outline of comments from NxStage's Joe Turk given at the CMS Town Hall meeting.
• Kamal Shah's Blog Kamal figures out how to disable the app updates in Facebook (Now you're not going to know how I'm doing in FarmVille.  Phooey!); the technician who assists Kamal with his nocturnal dialysis may be getting married and Kamal has to find a way to get adequate training so he can do without him.
• Kaply, Inc. Tracy posts a cool video of bent metal art; goes to Ikea and introduces a friend to their fabulous Swedish meatballs; Tracy is getting the sweater she desires for Christmas, but also has to have a fistula revision or a stent. (Try to avoid the stent if you can, they don't last very long.)
• Toastiest Toastie breaks his record on the iPhone Skeeball game but thinks he should be doing something else with his spare time.
• Hasten down the wire Michael writes about the social implications of hypermedia.
• The Life of a 20-Something With Lupus While on her bus ride home, Flo watches an intoxicated man try to cross a busy street, she finds a mysterious lump on her knee; she gets scammed by a phony website.
• Becky Perry reviews A Little Help From My Friends by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt; a link to the SwagBucks website.
• On the Road to a Cure Factors that influence pregnancy outcomes in women with lupus; BioVid is looking for men with lupus who are 65+ years of age to take part in a survey, which will take about 45 minutes to complete. For those selected to participate, there’s a $75 stipend.
• Really, I'm as Old as I Feel? a photo of 2-year old Abby picking a pumpkin.
• I Am. Are you? Morgan D'Organ needs help deciding on his Halloween costume.  Vote in his online poll.
• Transplant Alliance Gwen has a post about really taking time to get to know someone before getting involved romantically;  writes about the challenges and rewards of being a foster parent.
• Chronic Chick Talk has a Madonna video for Music Monday; describes how she dealt with fleas on her dog; has a hard time keeping her Vitamin D level up; didn't have the energy to deal with a dishonest seller; a photo of two dogs enjoying the smells on a walk.
• Bud's Ramblings Bud loves watching the cows in his neighbor's yard and shares some trivia about cows, likes Bag Balm for chapped hands. (It sounds "udder-ly" ridiculous, but it works!)
• Precious Bodily Fluids has uploaded his entire Fluid, Electrolyte and Acid Base Companion to Sribd and you can download it for free.
• Renal Fellow Network a study shows that renal cilia length increases with acute tubular necrosis; mechanisms associated with saline expansion-induced metabolic acidosis.
• Uremic Frost Dr. Prince supports and signs the Every Other Day Dialysis petition and urges you to do the same.
•  Neophron's Senescence responds to an argument against the public insurance option.
• pkdmom2five shares her son's birthday party photos; thanks her friends who  made the party special.
• Dialysis and Me shares a video of fun and games with his dog, Jojo.
• Kidney Notes - Exploring the Intersection of Medicine and Technology links to a review article that details recent advances in the genetics of atypical hemolytic-uremic syndrome; a link to a heart-wrenching necrotizing fasciitis case in NEJM.
• Lemonade and Kidneys Ruth sets up her Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) light machine on her desk to perk herself up.
• The Ballad of Billy The Kidney John links to and comments on a news article about revisions being considered by Australia and New Zealand that would match kidneys from older donors after death to elderly recipients.
• The inner game of PKD Richie participated in the Greater New York City area Tri-State PKD Walk, and would like to find ways to get more PKD sufferers to connect for mutual support and encouragement.
• My New (transplanted) Kidney Al updates on labs and status three months post-transplant.
• DailyHemo - Home Dialysis Advocates New Videos: Grand Opening of Hale Pomaika'i Dialysis Clinic - Hawaii; Carla & Hanna - Home Dialysis; Florence Tewogbade and Her Kidney Disease Journey.
• Biologically Safe Water Filters A new initiative was announced by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, to fight costly and dangerous health care-associated infections (HAI’s). Hospital water systems are a source of many infections.  Water purification will reduce or eliminate these waterborne infections.  Nephros Dual Stage Ultrafilters can help.
• Kidney Community Emergency Response Qualitest Pharmaceuticals and the FDA notified healthcare professionals of a nationwide recall of Accusure Insulin Syringes. All syringes, regardless of lot number, are subject to this recall. The syringes in these lots may have needles which detach from the syringe. If the needle becomes detached from the syringe during use, it can become stuck in the insulin vial, push back into to the syringe, or remain in the skin after injection. Click here for more information.
• NephrOnline Blogs Mark E. Neumann gives an excellent summary of the presentations given at the CMS Town Hall meeting on the payment bundle.
• Renal BizBlog reports on the extensive backlog of dialysis clinics in Texas awaiting CMS certification.
• Team Teddy Bear Bob visits the Walkway over the Hudson, a new state park made from a former railway bridge into a path across the Hudson River from Poughkeepsie to Highland, photos from the field trip.

Comments

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Thanks for the article. It was nice reading it and get some useful information.