What is the Network?
Patient Data
Quality Improvement Data
Patient Complaints & Grievances
Patient Representation
Additional Patient Resources
What is the Network?
The Mid-Atlantic Renal Coalition (MARC) is an End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Network. ESRD Networks help dialysis and transplant facilities improve the quality of care at the dialysis units and transplant facilities. The Networks are contracted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to track patient data and improve the quality of treatment. MARC serves all of the dialysis and transplant facilities in:
What kind of patient data does MARC track?
MARC maintains information on the dialysis and transplant patients in the Network area in the following ways:
CMS 2728 - ESRD Medical Evidence Report Form
Completed by your physician and submitted to MARC. This registers you as an ESRD patient in the CMS system. It is the form that you take to Social Security when you want to apply for Medicare.CMS 2746 - Death Notification Form
A dialysis facility completes this form to notify MARC and CMS if a patient dies.Monthly Patient Activity Reports
Dialysis facilities must tell the Network monthly what patients are in their units. This helps CMS follow where patients are dialyzing or transplanted.Other Information
Sometimes MARC will ask the facilities to submit additional data. This data helps ensure that there are no false claims made to Medicare/Medicaid. The information also helps the government budget for dialysis and determine where problems may exist, so that programs can be developed to improve the quality of dialysis. All information about specific patients is kept confidential. Information about dialysis facilities is sometimes released to programs like Dialysis Facility Compare.
Quality Improvement Data
MARC oversees the quality of treatment patients receive in their facilities. There are over 18,000 patients in Network 5 and 281 hemodialysis facilities. MARC can measure how well a facility is providing care by looking at patient lab values, or the number of grievances that MARC has received about a facility. Sometimes MARC has dialysis facilities participate in projects to improve the quality of care in the dialysis unit. Facilities are required to cooperate with quality improvement projects if they receive payment from Medicare.
Patient Complaints and Grievances
MARC is required by law to investigate complaints and grievances that patients have about their dialysis or transplant facility. For more information, visit the Grievance Policy section.
How does the Network know what's going on with patients?
Patient Advisory Committee
MARC has a 12-person Patient Advisory Committee that meets twice each year. The committee helps MARC understand the kinds of patient issues that exist in the dialysis unit. In 2002, the PAC developed a brochure called Best Practices at the Dialysis Unit: from a Patient's Perspective (Adobe PDF). The Committee consists of transplant, hemodialysis, and peritoneal dialysis patients, and each state is represented. To learn more about what the Patient Advisory Committee does, download the PAC Recruitment Letter (Adobe PDF). If you are interested in becoming a member, please complete the PAC Interest form (Adobe PDF).
Patient Coordinators
MARC asks each dialysis facility to select a Patient Coordinator to serve as the unit's patient representative to MARC. To learn more about what Patient Coordinators do, download the brochure Patient Services at MARC (Adobe PDF).
What the Network CANNOT do and resources for who can help
Below are patient concerns that the Network is not equipped to handle and agencies that may be able to help.
What MARC CANNOT help with... |
Who CAN help... |
Medicare or Social Security |
|
Questions about Medicare |
1-800-MEDICARE |
Financial Help |
|
Transportation to Dialysis |
Contact the social worker at your unit |
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