CMS SOM App. H, Tag V772

The governing body receives

and acts upon recommendations from the ESRD network. The dialysis facility must

cooperate with the ESRD network designated for its geographic area, in fulfilling the terms

of the Network’s current statement of work. Each facility must participate in ESRD

network activities and pursue network goals.

Interpretive Guidance § 494.180(i):

Page 294 of 420

The ESRD facility must respond promptly within any specified deadlines to requests for

information, data, or corrective action plans from its ESRD Network. The facility must

participate in network projects and activities aimed at addressing identified needs and improving

quality of care in the individual facility or the network-wide area. Facilities may contact their

ESRD Network to obtain the most current copy of their network’s goals and objectives.

At the time of publication of these regulations (April 15, 2008, 73FR20369), the goals of ESRD

Networks were to:

• Improve the quality and safety of dialysis-related services provided for individuals with

ESRD;

• Improve independence, quality of life, and rehabilitation (to the extent possible) of

individuals with ESRD through encouragement of transplantation, use of self-care

modalities (e.g., home peritoneal dialysis, home hemodialysis, and in-center self-care), as

medically appropriate, through the end of life;

• Encourage and support collaborative activities to ensure achievement of these goals

through the most efficient and effective means possible, with recognition of the

differences among providers (e.g., independent, hospital-based, member of a group,

affiliate of an organization) and the associated possibilities/capabilities; and,

• Improve the collection, reliability, timeliness, and use of data to: measure processes of

care and outcomes; maintain the patient registry; and support the ESRD Network

program.