DaVita Kidney Care Outperforms All Dialysis Providers in Quality Incentive Program

DENVER, June 24, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- DaVita Kidney Care, a division of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. (NYSE: DVA) and a leading provider of kidney care services, today announced its 2014 end stage renal disease (ESRD) Quality Incentive Program (QIP) results from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). DaVita outperformed other kidney care providers in every category, with 98.4 percent of the company's centers ranking in the top clinical performance tier. The full report can be downloaded at CMS.gov.

"The QIP results demonstrate that DaVita's holistic, comprehensive care approach works," said DaVita HealthCare Partners CEO Kent Thiry. "As part of our culture of continuous improvement, we are working with members of the kidney care community and CMS to improve care for our patients."

DaVita also distinguished itself in reducing the proportion of low-performing centers in rural and low-income counties. Since QIP's inception in 2012, DaVita has achieved a 21 percent reduction in rural and low income centers that missed the top clinical tier while the rest of the industry saw a 24 percent increase.

QIP is part of Medicare's ESRD quality incentive program aimed at improving the quality of care provided to Medicare patients. It was designed in part to be the nation's first pay-for-performance quality incentive program, mandated through a series of reforms passed into law in 2008. CMS describes QIP as a "first-of-its-kind program [that] provides the ESRD community with the opportunity to enhance the overall quality of care that ESRD patients receive as they battle this devastating disease."

"We value the relationship we have with CMS and legislators across the country," said DaVita Group Vice President LeAnne Zumwalt. "Having a government partner committed to helping reduce hospitalizations and improve survival rates is important to us, our patients and their families."

QIP takes three clinical areas into account: urea reduction ratio (URR), anemia management and vascular access management. URR determines how effectively a dialysis treatment removes waste from the body and is commonly noted as a percentage. At the end of 2012, DaVita reported that only 0.6 percent of its patients – an all-time low – were below the 65 percent baseline.

In treating anemia, a common complication for ESRD patients, hemoglobin must be kept below 12 g/dl. In 2012, only one quarter of one percent of DaVita patients' hemoglobin levels were at or over 12 g/dl, compared to the industry average of .69 percent of patients at or above 12 g/dl.

Since the inception of CathAway^TM, a proprietary program designed to transition patients from central venous catheters (CVC) to arteriovenous (AV) fistulas to reduce the risk of hospitalization from infections and blood clots, DaVita has driven a 30 percent reduction in catheter use in patients who have been dialyzing for 90 days or more. DaVita patients were at an all-time low CVC rate of 9.9 percent and an all-time high AV fistula rate of 64 percent at the end of 2012. DaVita results also showed over an 11 percent reduction in gross mortality rates since 2010, representing thousands of lives saved.

DaVita has a holistic approach to kidney care that is patient-centric and addresses a range of health factors to deliver quality treatment. Since 2000, DaVita has demonstrated improved clinical outcomes in several critical areas, including vascular access, survival rates, bone and mineral metabolism management, dialysis adequacy and preventative care such as immunizations.

DaVita and CathAway are trademarks or registered trademarks of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc.

About DaVita Kidney Care
DaVita Kidney Care is a division of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc., a Fortune 500® company that, through its operating divisions, provides a variety of health care services to patient populations throughout the United States and abroad. A leading provider of dialysis services in the United States, DaVita Kidney Care treats patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease. DaVita Kidney Care strives to improve patients' quality of life by innovating clinical care, and by offering integrated treatment plans, personalized care teams and convenient health-management services. As of March 31, 2014, DaVita Kidney Care operated or provided administrative services at 2,098 outpatient dialysis centers located in the United States serving approximately 165,000 patients. The company also operated 75 outpatient dialysis centers located in 10 countries outside the United States. DaVita Kidney Care supports numerous programs dedicated to creating positive, sustainable change in communities around the world. The company's leadership development initiatives and social responsibility efforts have been recognized by Fortune, Modern Healthcare, Newsweek and WorldBlu. For more information, please visit DaVita.com.

Media:
Vince Hancock
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(303) 876-6618

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SOURCE DaVita