PFE July Update

Patient and Family Engagement is still very important for all dialysis facilities. Per CMS Guidance, due to COVID19 Pandemic Crisis all patient engagement and advocacy activities such as peer mentoring, attending support groups and participating in QAPI and Plan of Care meetings, should be done so virtually, over the telephone, online or thru another distant, non-person to person format to limit patient exposure risk. However, it should not prevent facilities from engaging with their patients to help improve the patient experience including identifying and/or working with a Network Patient Representative. An NPR can be a great sounding board for ideas and can help provide the patient perspective as the team works through the challenges of COVID19 and QIA efforts. In 2019, those facilities with an NPR had better results! Please review the following resources to learn more about what you can do to get and/or work with your NPR.

Need an NPR:

• Heartland Huddle: Network Patient Representative (NPR) Program Overview
• Heartland Huddle: Identifying your NPR
• NPR Program Flyer
• NPR Application

Have an NPR:

• Getting Started with Your NPR
• Keeping Your NPR Engaged
• Guidance for Engaging Patients in QAPI