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Surgeon Training and Education
Access Monitoring Presentation
A FFCL presentation by Tushar Vachharajani, MD, NCC Interventional Nephrology Consultant
FFCL Change Packet
Change Concept 1: Routine CQI Review of Vascular Access
Dialysis facilities should incorporate vascular access into their continuous quality improvement (CQI) processes. Planning and care for vascular access spans many disciplines and settings; breakdowns in communication put patients at risk for sub-optimal treatment. In order to identify patients who...
Change Concept 2: Timely Referral to Nephrologist
Reach out to the primary care physician (PCP) community to educate clinicians on appropriate referral criteria. Primary care physicians utilize ESRD/CKD referral criteria to ensure timely referral of patients to nephrologists. Establish meaningful criteria for PCPs who may not perform GFR or...
Change Concept 3: Early Referral to Surgeon for "AVF Only" Evaluation and Timely Placement
When possible, coordinate chronic kidney disease patient care so that patients will be referred early to surgeons specifically for AV fistula evaluation, including vein mapping where indicated, allowing sufficient lead-time for AV fistula maturation. Studies show that mapping vessels can...
Tools and Resources
Vascular Access Management Week by Week
An overview of vascular access management broken down week by week.
Achieveing HD Catheter Freedom: A Team Approach (video)
A vascular access presentation hosted by the FFCL Learning and Action Network.
AVG Assessment of Intervention Algorithm
This tool will assist facilities to improve consistency of AVG assessment and intervention, as well as communication efforts with surgeons, nephrologists and interventionalists. Developed February 2012