National Voluntary Consensus Standards for End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD): A Consensus Report 

Measuring the quality of care for end stage renal disease (ESRD) is critically important, because patient survival depends on dialysis treatments or renal transplant. Currently in the United States, more than half a million people have received a diagnosis of ESRD and more than 360,000 are on dialysis treatment. Adjusted all-cause mortality rates for ESRD are roughly 6-8 times higher for dialysis patients than for the general population. This report presents the results of the evaluation of 32 measures considered under the National Quality Forum’s Consensus Development Process. Ten measures were recommended and endorsed as voluntary consensus standards suitable for public reporting and quality improvement. The following measures were ratified by the NQF Board on August 5, 2011.