In This Issue:

EQRS System Update

Register for EQRS Town Hall

EQRS Patient Admit/Discharge Guidance

Clinical Closure Dates

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Upcoming Events:

New User Training

• Tuesday, July 20, 2021 • 2:00-3:30 PM ET

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Data Management Guidelines

Education

Conditions for Coverage for ESRD Facilities

ESRD QIP Questions

EQRS System Update

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will conclude the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Quality Reporting System (EQRS) data suspension as of July 12, 2021. Therefore, all ESRD facilities will be responsible for resuming the following quality data reporting to EQRS as of July 12, 2021:

• EQRS Clinical Data
• In-Center Hemodialysis Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (ICH CAHPS) Attestation
• Clinical Depression Screening and Follow-Up Plan submissions

Refer to the next page of this newsletter for the 2020 and 2021 Clinical Closure submission deadlines for the reporting months affected by the data suspension.

See below for information on an upcoming EQRS Town Hall to help you successfully report data. Plus, we answer your frequently asked questions (FAQs) pertaining to the data suspension and resumption of data reporting in EQRS in the EQRS Suppression Ending FAQs document on MyCROWNWeb.org.

The data suspension guidelines were originally outlined in the January 29, 2021 EQRS Announcement.

Register for the EQRS Town Hall

Join the ESRD Outreach, Communication and Training (EOCT) Team for a Town Hall event for tips to meet CMS data reporting deadlines for data submissions with the July 12, 2021 re-opening of EQRS.

Date: Thursday, July 8, 2021

Time: 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time

We’ll also discuss these EQRS topics:

EQRS Patient Admit/Discharge Guidance

Since the launch of EQRS in November 2020, EQRS users can no longer use “transient” as a patient admission status. The change was made to improve data quality and to ensure only one patient record is maintained in the ESRD patient registry. To further maintain ESRD patient registry accuracy:

Only admit permanent patients

Enter the date that the patient had their first dialysis treatment at the facility as the admission date

Enter the date that the patient received their last dialysis treatment at the facility as the discharge date

Admit patients that are dialyzing at a facility temporarily or as a visitor for more than 13 treatments and/or more than 30 days as a permanent patient

CMS requires EQRS users to admit permanent patients in EQRS within five business days of the patient’s first dialysis treatment date. Patient discharges also need to be entered in EQRS within five business days of the patient’s last dialysis treatment in the facility.
CMS will continue to assess the Admit/Discharge process in EQRS. CMS will implement updates, if necessary, to meet data reporting requirements and the ESRD community’s needs.
For additional guidance refer to the EQRS: Admit/Discharge Guidance document on MyCROWNWeb.org.

Clinical Closures

Clinical closure dates apply to all Collection Types (Hemodialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis) and clinical data submissions apply to all submission methods. Additionally, CMS highly recommends completing large data submissions prior to the official clinical closure date of September 1, 2021.

The 2020 data will support the Payment Year (PY) 2022 ESRD Quality Incentive Program (QIP) and the 2021 data will support the PY 2023 ESRD QIP. For additional details, please refer to the calendar year (CY) 2022 ESRD Prospective Payment System (PPS) proposed rule that is available from the Federal Register.