Mobile app offers comparison tools to drive informed choice in transplant center selection
In 2018, End-stage Renal Disease Network 9 convened transplant stakeholders and patients to support quality improvement activities conducted on behalf of CMS to increase patients on the kidney transplant waitlist and receiving transplants.
Early on, coalition members identified a need for a mechanism to enable patients to easily compare aspects of transplant centers in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky to help identify centers that best meet their needs. As a first step, each transplant center in the region was asked to provide current information on its absolute and relative medical exclusion criteria, living donor criteria and unique aspects of its programs.
These data, along with data from the Scientific Registry for Transplant Recipients on average wait time to transplant and number of kidney transplants completed per year, formed the framework for web pages developed on the IPRO ESRD Network Program website. The project was named Transplant Center Compare (TCC), and the TCC web pages quickly became the most frequently visited resource on the website.
As patients and caregivers began using this resource, many expressed to coalition members that they would like to be able to easily compare each transplant center’s unique criteria, services and outcomes on one screen. The coalition team began to investigate ways to provide an interactive program that would oer comparisons based on patients’ preferences.
In 2022, the program was expanded, and the 48 transplant centers in the 13 states that comprise the IPRO ESRD Network Program 1 were invited to provide data. The data capture tools were redesigned to gather an expanded data set, offering a complete range of information that patients had indicated they wished they knew prior to starting their transplant journey.
In January 2023, with the support of the IPRO Data and Analytics Department, the IPRO ESRD Network Program embarked on the development of a patient-facing mobile application, Kidney Transplant Compare (KTxC). KTxC gives patients access to educational resources about kidney transplantation and provides comparisons of transplant centers, allowing patients to select one that best meets their needs.
Users can filter, search and select transplant centers by location, medical selection criteria, outcomes and support services. Once users identify centers to compare, they can select a side-by-side view of the features of each transplant center program. The application also includes a facility directory with contact information and links to the website of each center. Coalition members and patient advocates tested and vetted the application to prepare for its nal release.
The IPRO ESRD Network Program released the KTxC mobile application to its patient and provider community in June 2023, offering users the ability to review and compare 131 unique data points about each transplant center. Information on 37 transplant centers was available at launch and, within the first year, all 48 transplant centers in the service area of the IPRO ESRD Network Program were represented in the application.
Early data analytics indicate a successful launch, with more than 3,000 active users and more than 41,000 pageviews since June 9, 2023, and an average of 15 page views per user. Most importantly, IPRO has heard from patients who have successfully used the application. One patient who was considering two centers made a decision based on the wait time data provided in the application. Another patient who had struggled to get waitlisted due to high BMI was able to identify a center that worked with him, and he has now begun the transplant work-up process.
The IPRO ESRD Network Program staff is delighted to be able to leverage technology to provide patients meaningful information that allows them to make informed choices about their care and helps them achieve their life goals.
To access the application, visit Kidney Transplant Compare on the IPRO ESRD Network Program https://esrd.ipro.org/kidney-transplant-compare/.
- For more information:
- Victoria Cash, MBA, BSN, CPHQ, RN, is executive director of IPRO ESRD Network 9 and program quality improvement lead. She can be reached at vcash@ipro.org.
- Caroline Sanner, MSN, RN-BC, CPHQ, is assistant director of quality improvement and transplant program lead.
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