Quality Assurance in Dialysis

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xii

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2. Quality assurance: Starting a program in dialysis

   • John H. Sadler

   Pages 1-9

3. Patient and therapy perspectives: Choosing the patient “is better worse?”

   • C. M. Kjellstrand

   Pages 11-21

4. Quality systems in the dialysis center: Peritoneal dialysis

   • Barbara F. Prowant, Karl D. Nolph, Zbylut J. Twardowski, Lois M. Schmidt, Leonor Ponferrada, Ramesh Khanna

   Pages 23-45

5. Continuous quality improvement in dialysis: Operations and controls for multi-center systems

   • Edward E. Berger, Edmund G. Lowrie

   Pages 47-62

6. Quality of care in home dialysis

   • Christopher R. Blagg

   Pages 63-83

7. Water treatment for hemodialysis

   • Prakash Keshaviah

   Pages 85-107

8. The impact of membrane selection on quality assurance in dialysis

   • Lee W. Henderson

   Pages 109-131

9. Quality of life assurance in hemodialysis

   • A. Paul Heidenheim, Robert M. Lindsay

   Pages 133-149

10. Dialyzer reuse and the quality of therapy

    • L. W. Henderson

    Pages 151-154

11. Multicenter trials as a measure for improving the quality of clinical decisions

    • David N. Churchill

    Pages 155-166

12. Quality assurance in renal transplantation

    • Robert W. Steiner

    Pages 167-190

13. Quality assurance in dialysis product manufacturing

    • Richard S. Thuma

    Pages 191-211

14. Human resource issues in quality management

    • Gail S. Wick

    Pages 213-223

15. Quality criteria for the clinical record

    • Cindy Jo Ping, Susan Gross, Corrine E. Algrim

    Pages 225-238

16. Continuous quality improvement and the best demonstrated practices program

    • Arthur Holden, Rosalie Villano

    Pages 239-251

17. Back Matter

    Pages 253-258

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This is a time in history when the concept of Quality is reaching new highs in terms of public awareness. Articles describing quality, CQI, quality tools, critical success factors, failures, and lessons learned appear in local news­ papers, trade journals, scientific periodicals, and professional publications on a daily basis, yet implementation of a quality system in many hospital units is approached with caution and the basic tenants of quality systems and CQI continue to be misunderstood. In the United States, today, the public debate on healthcare issues rages on. The application of strategies, such as cost-benefit analysis as a means of new technologies to the healthcare cost structure has for evaluating addition not succeeded in curbing the rise in costs of healthcare services. of this focused attention by third-party payers, federal and state Because governments, and insurance companies, healthcare organizations are being of the strategies for changing involves implementing pressured to change. One quality assurance practices. The focus on quality should produce improvements in productivity, innovation, and profitability. But, most importantly, the desired outcome of a quality assurance program is self-improvement.

• dialysis
• kidney
• transplantation

`This book clearly indicates that a continuous process of assessment and improvement is well worth the effort and brings dividends to both patients and those providing the service. Although all the contributors are from North America ... there is no doubt that CQI is equally of value in Europe and this book will provide the background information necessary for such a development.'
Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, 13 (1998)

• Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Nephrology, Rush Medical College, Chicago, USA

  Lee W. Henderson

• Renal Division, Baxter Healthcare Corporation, USA

  Lee W. Henderson, Richard S. Thuma

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