By Miriam Lippel Blum
CMS announced a 30 day extension of the comment period for the new proposed rule for dialysis payment. Comments on the Proposed Rule are now due by 5:00 pm on December 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 , or the NKC's bundling resource page and learn.
Here are the CKD related blogs updated since my last report on 10/31. 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 posted a DSEN Halloween pumpkin (To inspire dialyzors to "squash" barriers to optimal CKD5 care); The Northwest kidney centers has an excellent bundling resource page on their website as part of their effort to engage patients and the rest of the community in the dialysis payment rule making process. In addition NKC is putting on three forums Nov. 3, 7, & 8; Bill responds to research that finds travel by dialyzors to be dangerous to their health by pointing out that the problem isn't really travel but the lack of self-care; Bill has compiled and made available a spreadsheet of all the responses made thus far to CMS's new proposed rule for ESRD payment, he provides links for where to submit your comments and where to learn more about the rule.
- Kamal Shah's Blog Kamal is deeply touched by a friend who comes to observe how he does dialysis and learn more about Kamal's life with it; there is a shortage of the sterile prep kits that Kamal uses for hemodialysis and he is searching for another supplier.
- Kaply, Inc. Tracy spent Halloween cleaning her house in preparation for next week's surgery; Tracy's morning surgery got delayed so she spent all day in the hospital and had major withdrawal from Diet Coke. (We wish you speedy healing.)
- Toastiest a photo of Toastie in his Halloween costume in 2007; this year's Halloween get-up as Wilford Brimley; a link to another ridiculous statement by Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) regarding the health proposal.
- Birdman posts a religious video from Garden to the City.
- The Life of a 20-Something With Lupus Flo gets lousy service at her pharmacy; Flo's day was okay but it was one of those nights when looking at her dialysis machine bummed her out and brought her to tears. (We've all been there, Flo, and send a knowing hug from afar.)
- Life on dialysis ... and now life after my transplant! Holly joined a gym and did a real workout (You Go, Girl! You're going to be a jock soon.); Holly lists her workout from her second day at the gym (Inspirational! But I'm exhausted just reading it!); she reports on a new campaign to get people to sign up for the NHS Organ Donor Register.
- On the Road to a Cure reports that two trials have demonstrated that treatment with BENLYSTA plus standard of care was superior to that of placebo (inactive agent) plus standard of care. It significantly reduced disease activity. This should make BENLYSTA eligible for approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A groundbreaking achievement!
- I Am. Are you? Morgan D'Organ had a busy Halloween night dressed as Superman.
- The Ins and Outs of Dialysis John continues his physical therapy for a ruptured Achilles tendon while enjoying the lovely Arizona winter sunshine.
- Chronic Chick Talk wonders how many people really have H1N1 since no one is being tested anymore unless they are going in the hospital, wants to know whether or not you are going to get the vaccine and why; recommends a website that helps one determine the best cell phone service to choose
- Lupus and Humor Carla hopes her doctor will prescribe LDN (low-dose naltrexone) to help with her lupus related inflammation.
- Linda Gromko MD kidneycare Linda makes a plea for a young man with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia who needs a bone marrow transplant; Linda is experiencing caregiver frustration and asks for any tips or wisdom to help her with it.
- Renal Fellow Network attends a lecture by Rene Bindels and learns a good explanation for why hypocalcemia results from thiazide diuretic treatment; a research paper proposes a link between the loop diuretic (Lasix) and secondary hyperparathyroidism.
- Uremic Frost reports on the same research paper mentioned above about the link between the loop diuretic (Lasix) and secondary hyperparathyroidism.
- UKidney Results of the TREAT study - which examined the role of Aranesp in the management of diabetic patients with CKD - indicated here was no advantage to the group given Aranesp and a statistically significant increase in strokes observed in the the treatment group.
- pkdmom2five shares the origins of Halloween and religious objections to its celebration; congratulates a newlywed couple.
- Dialysis and Me has more videos from their vacation to Cape Canaveral.
- Mid-life ramblings sister missionaries from Dianne's church have moved into the spare room in her home, she enjoys their company, forgot to set her clocks back, is becoming more comfortable with home hemodialysis.
- The inner game of PKD Richie continues his discussion of what constitutes human-to-human support that helps with coping with PKD.
- Michael W. Newman Michael's call to the Corporate Compliance Center of his dialysis clinic finally brings some positive results regarding the poor staff/patient ratio that endangered dialyzors there.
- Renal BizBlog The renal community will have an extra 30 days to comment on the proposed bundled payment rule after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services extended the comment deadline to Dec. 16 at 5 pm.
- Team Teddy Bear has happy photos from a fun, albeit soggy, Halloween.
Comments