A dialysis facility that is certified to provide services to home patients must ensure through its interdisciplinary team, that home dialysis services are at least equivalent to those provided to in-facility patients and meet all applicable conditions of this part.

(a) Standard: Training. The interdisciplinary team must oversee training of the home dialysis patient, the designated caregiver, or self-dialysis patient before the initiation of home dialysis or self-dialysis (as defined in §494.10) and when the home dialysis caregiver or home dialysis modality changes. The training must—

(1) Be provided by a dialysis facility that is approved to provide home dialysis services;

(2) Be conducted by a registered nurse who meets the requirements of §494.140(b)(2); and

(3) Be conducted for each home dialysis patient and address the specific needs of the patient, in the following areas:

(i) The nature and management of ESRD.

(ii) The full range of techniques associated with the treatment modality selected, including effective use of dialysis supplies and equipment in achieving and delivering the physician's prescription of Kt/V or URR, and effective administration of erythropoiesis-stimulating agent(s) (if prescribed) to achieve and maintain a target level hemoglobin or hematocrit as written in patient's plan of care.

(iii) How to detect, report, and manage potential dialysis complications, including water treatment problems.

(iv) Availability of support resources and how to access and use resources.

(v) How to self-monitor health status and record and report health status information.

(vi) How to handle medical and non-medical emergencies.

(vii) Infection control precautions.

(viii) Proper waste storage and disposal procedures.

(b) Standard: Home dialysis monitoring. The dialysis facility must—

(1) Document in the medical record that the patient, the caregiver, or both received and demonstrated adequate comprehension of the training;

(2) Retrieve and review complete self-monitoring data and other information from self-care patients or their designated caregiver(s) at least every 2 months; and

(3) Maintain this information in the patient's medical record.

(c) Standard: Support services.

(1) A home dialysis facility must furnish (either directly, under agreement, or by arrangement with another ESRD facility) home dialysis support services regardless of whether dialysis supplies are provided by the dialysis facility or a durable medical equipment company. Services include, but are not limited to, the following:

(i) Periodic monitoring of the patient's home adaptation, including visits to the patient's home by facility personnel in accordance with the patient's plan of care.

(ii) Coordination of the home patient's care by a member of the dialysis facility's interdisciplinary team.

(iii) Development and periodic review of the patient's individualized comprehensive plan of care that specifies the services necessary to address the patient's needs and meets the measurable and expected outcomes as specified in §494.90 of this part.

(iv) Patient consultation with members of the interdisciplinary team, as needed.

(v) Monitoring of the quality of water and dialysate used by home hemodialysis patients including conducting an onsite evaluation and testing of the water and dialysate system in accordance with—

(A) The recommendations specified in the manufacturers' instructions; and

(B) The system's FDA-approved labeling for preconfigured systems designed, tested, and validated to meet AAMI quality (which includes standards for chemical and chlorine/chloramine testing) water and dialysate. The facility must meet testing and other requirements of AAMI RD52:2004. In addition, bacteriological and endotoxin testing must be performed on a quarterly, or more frequent basis as needed, to ensure that the water and dialysate are within the AAMI limits.

(C) The dialysis facility must correct any water and dialysate quality problem for the home hemodialysis patient, and if necessary, arrange for backup dialysis until the problem is corrected if—

(1) Analysis of the water and dialysate quality indicates contamination; or

(2) The home hemodialysis patient demonstrates clinical symptoms associated with water and dialysate contamination.

(vi) Purchasing, leasing, renting, delivering, installing, repairing and maintaining medically necessary home dialysis supplies and equipment (including supportive equipment) prescribed by the attending physician.

(vii) Identifying a plan and arranging for emergency back-up dialysis services when needed.

(2) The dialysis facility must maintain a recordkeeping system that ensures continuity of care and patient privacy. This includes items and services furnished by durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers referred to in §414.330(a)(2) of this chapter.