The Interdisciplinary Team and the Patient: Working Together to Achieve Buy-In for a UF Rate Less Than 13 mL/Kg/Hr

Abstract

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) metric for reporting ultrafiltration (UF) recommends limiting UF at a range of 10 to 13 mL/Kg/Hr to avoid organ stunning. All organ stunning has an impact on patient quality of life (QoL). As this new standard of UF is implemented, the interdisciplinary team (IDT) and the patient must work together toward achieving a less than 13 mL/Kg/Hr UF buy-in. Understanding the CMS goals and target date of January 1, 2018, for data collection purposes was key to early initiation of staff and patient education. Dialysis treatment centers must rise to implement mandated fluid removal objectives. Education and knowledge are the best facilitators of success when implementing change. The IDT must work together to continually reinforce the standards set by CMS.

Keywords: hemodialysis; interdialytic weight gain; interdisciplinary team; quality of life; ultrafiltration.