The Negative Impact of Restricting Access to Innovation for People on Dialysis

*This interview with Lori Hartwell was taped before the release of the final ESRD PPS rule, so some of the details have changed slightly given the updated data CMS used, but the overall policy remained unchanged.

Nephrology Times spoke with Lori Hartwell, founder and president of the Renal Support Network. As a dedicated patient advocate who has personally experienced kidney disease and transplant, Hartwell has served as a member of the Kidney Care Quality Alliance (KCQA) and as part of the NQF Renal Standing Committee on quality measure development.

In this interview, Hartwell discusses end-stage renal disease benefit reforms to better incentivize innovation and achieve sustained quality improvements, the consequences of not promoting innovation for kidney patients, and much more.