DENVER, Oct. 24, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- DaVita Kidney Care, a division of DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA), the leading independent provider of integrated health and kidney care services in the United States, today announced that since the inception of the program and for the third year in a row, it has been recognized as the clinical leader in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Five-Star Quality Rating System. According to the latest government ratings, DaVita Kidney Care outperformed the rest of the industry.

"Transparency and accountability are working to raise the bar," said Javier Rodriguez, president and CEO for DaVita Kidney Care. "We continue to be pleased that all providers are measured against the same set of metrics and we know they will drive the kidney community to higher quality, which is good for all patients."

Within the CMS' Five-Star Quality Rating System, each dialysis center that provides in-center hemodialysis (excluding pediatric only facilities) receives a rating between one and five based on clinical performance and patient outcomes. This year, centers are given a star rating according to a threshold set by calculating seven quality measures.  Ratings can be found on the Dialysis Facility Compare website.

DaVita outperformed the rest of the industry with the highest percentage of four- and five-star centers and lowest percentage of one- and two-star centers in the country.  

"Most of all, we want to thank our clinical professionals for their unwavering commitment to excellence in caring for our patients," said Allen R. Nissenson, MD, FACP, chief medical officer for DaVita Kidney Care. "We know that higher star ratings correlate with lower hospitalization rates and better patient survival, which means that our patients get more time to spend doing the things they enjoy and are important to them including  more special moments with their families and friends."

In 2013, DaVita Kidney Care developed the Patient-Focused Quality Pyramid to help provide direction for improving patient care and outcomes. The Pyramid focuses on the fundamentals of dialysis care – dialysis access, dialysis adequacy, nutrition, anemia and bone and metabolic disease – and next-generation clinical initiatives that focus on fluid reduction, diabetes management, medication management and infection reduction.

• FluidWise^® – The FluidWise program focuses on educating physicians, patients and teammates on the importance of fluid management, sodium intake and weight management. Early efforts at fluid management have led to greater than a 10 percentage point decrease in interdialytic weight gain.
• StepAhead Diabetes Management^TM – The program helps coordinate care for dialysis patients who have diabetes, which is a leading cause of kidney disease.
• MedsMatter^TM – The MedsMatter program is DaVita's medication management program, focusing on the completion of timely and effective home medication reviews as well as providing tools and services to reduce medication-related patient hospitalization.
• WipeOut Infection^® – The WipeOut Infection program aims to lower the risk of infection for dialysis patients by educating physicians, teammates and patients on the importance of habits and procedures to prevent infections.

To learn more about DaVita Kidney Care's commitment to quality, visit DaVita.com/Five-Star.

About DaVita Kidney Care
DaVita Kidney Care is a division of DaVita 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 June 30, 2016, DaVita Kidney Care operated or provided administrative services at 2,293 outpatient dialysis centers located in the United States serving approximately 185,000 patients. The company also operated 127 outpatient dialysis centers located in 11 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.

Contact Information
Kate Stabrawa
303-876-7527
Kate.stabrawa@davita.com

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SOURCE DaVita Inc.