Primed dialyzer and tubing

[Natkat, BSN, MSN, RN]

So the state paid us a little visit recently and, as you can imagine, they found many, many problems with our facility as a whole, and a few that were specific to dialysis. The surveyor said that once the dialysis lines are primed they can't be used after an hour. We had always heard that they wouldn't have to be replaced until after 4 hours. Has anyone heard of this?

Also, what authority do surveyors have to make these decisions? We had a strong feeling that our surveyor was making things up. She had other recommendation that seemed really off to us. How do we check what the surveyor is telling us against what the industry does as a whole?

[AcuteHD]

Smells like BS to me. Our policy says 4 hours, others may be 2 hours, but not 1 hour! It's my understanding that the surveyor will back up any findings with the code in the final report. What they say in the interview is often opinion, and may be different then what they write.

[idodialysis]

As AcuteHD said, there should be a specific V tag cited that will give you a point of reference. You look up that V tag in the conditions of coverage and there it should be!

[Natkat, BSN, MSN, RN]

I don't know if I can get my hands on the report, but I'll let my supervisor know where to look. Thanks.

[Anna S, RN]

Our policy says 6 hrs. I, too, believe surveyors make up things on the spot, or misinterpret their own rules/guidelines.

[Guttercat, ASN, RN]

One hour? Two hours here, per facility PP.

OP, please let us know the outcome of this.

[mtmt99]

I have experienced a surveyor who cited our clinic for things in error. He/she may just be thinking of some other company's policy. As others have said, encourage your administrator to research the conditions for coverage and fight. I, too would be curious to know if that is even in the conditions for coverage.

[Natkat, BSN, MSN, RN]

Okay here is what I learned. We prime our lines with heparinized saline. Our facility has a policy that any lines with medication in them have to replaced after one hour. Normal saline can hang for 4 hours.