Our Mission
To provide leadership and assistance to renal dialysis and transplant facilities in a manner
that supports continuous improvement in patient care, outcomes, safety and satisfaction.
Fistula First Project Description
Fistula First Breakthrough Initiative
Fistula First is a national Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services (CMS)-driven quality improvement project started in 2003 in conjunction
with the Institute of Health Improvement (IHI). The initial goals of the project
was to reach the National Kidney Foundation Dialysis Outcomes Quality Initiative
(NKF-KDOQI) Guidelines targets for vascular access- 40% AVF utilization rate for
prevalent hemodialysis patient population, and 50% AVF placement rate for
incident patients.
In the 2006-2009 Statement of Work (SOW), CMS
increased the AVF goal to 66 % AVF utilization in prevalent hemodialysis
patients. In addition, CMS set yearly goals for each End Stage Renal Disease
(ESRD) Network for each contract year, based on their performance. The ultimate
goal of this initiative is to increase the likelihood that all eligible
hemodialysis patients will be using native AV Fistula as a primary source of
vascular access.
Fistula First CMS Press Release
Fistula First Initiative - Fact Sheet (March 17, 2005)
AVF Fact Sheet
Network 18 AVF Trend: 2009-2011 (download chart)
Network 18 Vascular Access Charts
Visit the Vascular Access page at
www.fistulafirst.org
for more information.
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