CROWNWeb: A Phased-In Approach To 100% Data Collection

On Feb. 1, 2009, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) took dialysis facilities’ ability to accurately manage their patients’ Medicare data into a new era, with the introduction of CROWNWeb. A Web-based data-collection system, CROWNWeb will provide a new means of accessing key patient-care data summaries, such as Clinical Performance Measures (CPMs) Reports and the Fistula First Breakthrough Initiative.¹

The system is also designed to facilitate the required entry and update of electronic data for dialysis patients at Medicare-certified facilities. This requirement was announced in April 2008, as part of the updated ESRD Conditions for Coverage (CfC). In this document, CMS formally published its plan to make CROWNWeb available to the End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) community. In addition to serving as the renal community’s central patient database, the purposes of CROWNWeb include the following.

• Support ESRD Program administration
• Standardize clinical measurements
• Provide timely comparative reporting
• Improve efficiency of data collection and reporting for CMS and dialysis facilities
• Strengthen commitment and collaboration between Networks and facilities
• Complement the advanced information infrastructure used by many dialysis facilities

In this article, we will outline recent developments surrounding CROWNWeb’s implementation. We will then focus on CROWNWeb’s newly announced phased-in implementation process, and how potential CROWNWeb users can take advantage of this approach. Finally, we will discuss how CROWNWeb can assist facilities in caring for their patients.